"I am delighted that Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal have been released. It reaffirms the promises made during our conversations with the president of Iran and representatives of the Iranian foreign ministry.

The foreign ministry had made it clear it would extend our visas to enable us to stay for the release, whenever that would occur. Because of commitments back home – clearly, for me, with Washington National Cathedral [which remains closed to visitors while work continues to repair damages caused by the Aug. 23 earthquake] – I could not remain in Iran, but felt that the work had accomplished its end.

For me, the release of Shane and Josh affirms the importance of the role of religious dialogue and its end product in this case, public diplomacy, as we seek ways to define common ground between our two countries.

I look forward to good conversations with representatives of our government with the hope that it finds a way to address the Iranians’ concern for their citizens who are currently in detention in the United States."