NEW YORK — Two Americans released from an Iranian prison will return to U.S. soil Sunday after being held for more than two years as accused spies.

Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer were scheduled to return from the Mideast on Sunday afternoon, according to Samantha Topping, a spokeswoman for their families. She declined to publicly release details of their arrival. The two were released this week from custody and arrived in Oman under a $1 million bail deal.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry called it a gesture of Islamic mercy.

Fattal and Bauer’s return to the U.S. will be the end of lengthy ordeal that began in July 2009 when they were detained along the Iran-Iraq border, as was fellow hiker Sarah Shourd. The three always maintained their innocence, saying they were only hiking in Iraq’s relatively peaceful Kurdish region and might have accidentally wandered into Iran.

A furious diplomatic effort led to the release of Shourd about a year ago, and negotiations continued for the two men. Last month, Fattal and Bauer were sentenced to eight years in prison each for illegal entry into Iran and espionage.

The first hint of change in the case came last week when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Fattal and Bauer could be released within days. But wrangling from within the country’s leadership delayed efforts. Iranian defense attorney Masoud Shafiei secured the necessary judicial approval Wednesday for the bail — $500,000 for each man.