Two American hikers who have been jailed by Iran on spying charges since 2009 were released from prison Wednesday afternoon.

A judge approved an order for their release Wednesday after the posting of $1 million bail. The move follows days of delays as the two men waited for a second judge to return from leave and sign the paperwork.

Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal were first released into the hands of a Swiss envoy. Omani officials later entered the prison, and Oman said it has provided an aircraft that is at the Tehran airport waiting to fly the Americans out of Iran.

The release came a day before Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is scheduled to address the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

Analysts say Mr. Ahmadinejad may have been hoping to use the release to gain some international approval. Iranian media reports that he will focus on a theme of global management in his annual address before the world body.

In August, Tehran sentenced Bauer and Fattal to eight years in prison on spying convictions, saying they had illegally crossed into the country from Iraq.

The hikers were arrested in 2009 along with a third American, Sarah Shourd. She was freed on $500,000 bail last year and returned to the United States.

The three Americans maintain 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.