Muhammad Ali has offered to go to Iran to help get two American hikers freed.

Ali has already sent a letter to Iran's supreme leader seeking the release of the two men.

But his wife Lonnie said a visit would depend on Ali's health. Parkinson's Disease has limited his speech and physical activity.

Ali, arguably the most prominent US Muslim, made a behind-the scenes appeal to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last month and published his letter yesterday.

The letter asked Khamenei to release Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer, who have been held on spying charges since July 2009, when they were arrested while hiking in northern Iraq near the Iranian border.

A third hiker, Sarah Shourd, was released on bail in September.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.