Iran releases wife of jailed Washington Post reporter

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Iran has released the wife of a Washington Post reporter after arresting the two journalists in July, her newspaper said Monday.

The National newspaper said Yeganeh Salehi, 30, was released on bail, while her husband, Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian, 38, remains in detention.

The Abu Dhabi-based newspaper cited Ali Rezaian, Jason's brother, as saying the reporter was freed on bail late last week. It quoted him as saying the two were "physically healthy" and that Salehi had been allowed to visit her husband recently. Jason Rezaian has American and Iranian citizenship.

The two were detained along with two other journalists on July 22. The two other reporters were later freed. Iranian officials have not said why the four were detained. Officials were not available for comment on the reported release, and state media did not report on it.

Ali Rezaian said neither Salehi nor her family in Tehran would be speaking to the press and asked that their privacy be respected, according to the newspaper. It also cited him as saying that Salehi is no longer allowed to work as a journalist in Iran, without providing further details.

President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate elected last year on promises to engage with the West, has vowed to expand freedom of expression in Iran. But he has faced stiff resistance from hard-liners in the government who fear that liberalization would undermine the Islamic Republic.

Last month, at the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, Washington Post's editor, Marty Baron, appealed directly to Rouhani to free Rezaian, calling him a "good journalist" who has not been charged.

Rouhani said he was "quite optimistic" the situation would be resolved but stopped short of calling for his release.