The lawyer for two Americans jailed in Iran says he needs the signature of one more judge on bail papers before his clients can be released.

Masoud Shafiei said Saturday he hopes Iran's judiciary will clear the way for the payment of $1 million bail in exchange for the release of the two men.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said earlier this week that Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal would be released imminently. But Iran's judiciary responded that the bail provisions were still under review.

Last month, Bauer and Fattal received eight years sentences on spying and illegal entry charges.

They were arrested on July 31, 2009, along with a third American, Sarah Shourd, who was freed on $500,000 bail last year and returned to the United States. The trio has always proclaimed their innocence and said they were hiking in the mountains of northern Iraq while on vacation. They said that if they crossed the unmarked border into Iran, it was by mistake.

The United States, which does not have diplomatic relations with Iran, has repeatedly called for the hikers' immediate release from Tehran's notorious Evin prison.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday she had received word through a number of sources that the two men would be freed soon.