U.S. Reporter Out of Iran, Denies Charges of Spying

American reporter Gerald F. Seib, freed from captivity in Iran, hugged his wife in a joyful birthday celebration Friday and denied Iranian 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 to Iran with 56 other foreign journalists invited by the government to visit battle areas of the 6 1/2-year-old war with Iraq.

Released to Embassy

The journalist 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 Friday 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.

News Agency’s Version

The official Iranian news agency, IRNA, 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 Friday, 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 release Seib was made after completion of a “judicial probe into his case” and 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.

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 their visit but others had opposed it and did not like the results.

‘A Good Reporter’

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.

Chairman Warren H. Phillips of Dow Jones, which publishes the Wall Street Journal, said: “We’re delighted at Gerry’s safe return. His family joins his colleagues in thanking the many public and private individuals in many countries whose support and assistance made his return possible.”

It was champagne and birthday cake for the reporter’s family in Hays, Kan.

“We’re going to try and outdo Ronald Reagan’s birthday party today,” said his father, Dick Seib, and his mother Annette added, “We talked about popping that bubbly and this is the day.” President Reagan was 76 on Friday.

Met by Diplomat

On his arrival in Zurich, Seib was met by an American diplomat and a Swiss Foreign Ministry official before talking to reporters, the U.S. Embassy said.

Seib declined to answer reporters’ 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 he did not seem overly tired.

“I know my wife, Barb, my parents, my family and my colleagues have all been worrying about me,” he said. “I want through you to tell all of them that I am just fine. I hope that all of you, imagining yourselves being in my position, will respect our desire for some peace and privacy.”

Others in Jail

Three other Westerners are imprisoned in Iran on espionage charges: Jon Pattis, 50, of Bethesda, Md., a communications consultant arrested June 16 after Iraqi warplanes bombed the Assadabad telecommunications center southwest of Tehran; British businessman Roger Cooper, 51, arrested more than a year ago and charged with espionage last Dec. 10; and Philip Engs, 29, a Canadian oil engineer arrested Dec. 2 for allegedly photographing military installations.

Canadian officials said Thursday they had been advised that Engs would be released soon.