(CNN) -- The parents of two American hikers held in Iran will now be able to speak to their sons via telephone, according to the Mission on Iran to the United Nations.
The decision was made based on "humanitarian consideration" after meetings with U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-New York, and Iranian Ambassador Mohammad Khazaee, according to Mahdi Nourian, spokesman for the mission.
"There is now an agreement that the parents of these two young men can be in contact with them over the phone," said Hinchey, who has been working on behalf of the detained hikers for more than a year. "They can call on the phone and speak on a regular basis".
"This direct contact is new and a positive step forward," Hinchey said. "I think it will be comforting to these two young men and be [a] happy circumstance to their parents".
The congressman said he will continue to have conversations with the ambassador and will persist in his efforts to make additional progress in the case.
Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal have been held in Evin Prison in the Iranian capital of Tehran for more than a year. They and a third hiker, Sarah Shourd, were arrested in 2009 after they allegedly strayed across an unmarked border into Iran while hiking in Iraq's Kurdistan region. Iran has accused them of espionage. Shourd was released on humanitarian grounds in September.
Hinchey said he has told Fattal's family of the development, and was attempting to make contact with Bauer's family.
Under the agreement, the parents would call the United Nations mission, and the call would be transferred to their children in Iran.
Shourd has not been officially summoned to return to Iran for trial, and a court date for the three Americans -- initially set for Saturday -- has been postponed, according to the state-run Iranian Republic News Agency.
CNN
