Seib Lands in Zurich, Says He’s No Spy

American reporter Gerald F. Seib, free from an Iranian jail, hugged his wife in a joyful birthday celebration today and denied Iran’s charges that he spied while there on an official press tour.

“I am thrilled and thankful to be here,” he said. “This happens to be my 31st birthday. And just being here is the best birthday present possible.”

He said he was not physically harmed during several days of custody in Iran. Seib, who reports for the Wall Street Journal from his base in Cairo, had gone there with 56 other foreign journalists invited by the government to visit battle areas of the 6 1/2-year-old war with Iraq.

Accused of Spying

The reporter was arrested last Saturday, accused of spying for Israel, and released Wednesday to the Swiss Embassy, which handles U.S. interests in Iran. He arrived in Zurich on a Swissair flight and was greeted by his wife, Barbara Rosewicz.

They embraced on the tarmac and went into the terminal, where Seib read a statement that said in part:

“I am still not sure why I was detained or how I was released. All I know is that any suggestion I was involved in any kind of espionage is completely false. I am a journalist and that is all I am.”

Iran’s fundamentalist Shia Muslim government arrested Seib when he and the other reporters returned to Tehran preparatory to leaving after a 10-day visit.

Called Zionist Spy

The official Islamic Republic News Agency said a “spy of the Zionist regime” was arrested after entering the country with a false passport, in the guise of a journalist.

In his statement today, Seib said: “I was in Iran as an invited reporter on a valid U.S. passport along with more than 50 other reporters from around the world, simply doing my job.”

Iranian officials said Wednesday that the decision to “expel” Seib was made after completion of a “judicial probe into his case” and that he would be barred from the country permanently.

No details of the inquiry or its findings were released, but Seib apparently was cleared of the allegations.

Internal Squabble

There has been speculation that his detention resulted from factional struggles within Iran’s leadership. Rumors circulated while the foreign reporters were in Iran that some elements were pleased with the tour but others had opposed it and did not like the results.

In Washington, White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said, “We are certainly happy that he’s been released, pleased to see him reunited with his family,” and added on a personal note: “Gerry’s a good friend and a good reporter and I know this has been a tough ordeal for him.

“We feel his detention was certainly unjustified,” Fitzwater said.

Seib refused upon his arrival in Zurich to answer questions or say where he and his wife, who stood by his side with a broad smile, would go next. She also is a journalist based in Cairo.

He looked pale and serious as he read the prepared statement in the VIP lounge, but his clothes were neat and he did not seem overly tired. He wore brown flannel trousers and a brown sports jacket over a sweater.