BBC News with Nick Kelly.

An American woman freed on Tuesday after more than a year in an Iranian jail has thanked all those involved in her release. The woman, Sarah Shourd, said her priority now would be to work for the release of her two companions who’re still in prison in Iran.

“It’s a huge relief for me and I want to thank every country, every official and individual that’s involved in this process. I feel myself I have a huge debt to repay the world for what it’s done for me, and my first priority is to help my fiancée Shane Bauer and my friend Josh Fattel to gain their freedom because they’re not

deserve to

be in prison any more.”

Ms Shourd was arrested last year with two other Americans and accused of

espionage

after crossing the Iranian border while hiking in Iraq. She’s now left Iran.

The United States says the Israeli and Palestinian leaders have held a serious discussion about core issues of the conflict between their peoples. The US envoy George Mitchell said the two sides had

reiterate

d their intent to approach the negotiations in good faith. He said the common goal was two states for two peoples, and that Washington would

place its full weight behind

the negotiations. The American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who also took part in the talks, expressed

optimism

that progress could be made. The Palestinians say they’ll walk out later this month if Israel fails to renew a partial freeze on Jewish settlement building in the occupied West Bank.