Iran Frees Briton Held 2 Years on Weapons Charge

A Briton jailed in Iran for more than two years arrived home Tuesday, marking the latest thaw in relations since the two nations virtually cut diplomatic ties in 1987.

Nicholas Nicola, 23, smiled as he walked down the steps of a scheduled Iran Air flight at London’s Heathrow Airport. He did not speak to reporters.

Iranian officials say that Nicola, a tourist traveling by land from Pakistan, was arrested on the Iranian border with firearms. Some Iranian reports say he had shot at lights at an Iranian border post.

Britain said Nicola was held without trial in Tehran’s maximum-security Evin Prison. But the English-language Tehran Times reported Tuesday that Nicola had been tried and sentenced to a 3 1/2-year prison term “for the possession of two weapons and a number of cartridges.” It said the sentence was reduced for good behavior.