“And Matthew’s case was able to be resolved and he is on his way home”, one of the senior administration officials told CNN.
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Iran has released five American prisoners, including a Washington Post reporter, a Christian pastor and a former U.S. Marine, U.S. officials said on Saturday.
Iranian state television announced today that the government had freed four dual-nationality prisoners, and a person close to Iran’s judiciary confirmed to The Associated Press that Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian was one of them.
Little is known about Khosravi-Roodsari. The Post and the USA government have denied the accusations, as has Rezaian.
Iran has agreed to release four detained Iranian-Americans in exchange for seven Iranians held or charged in the United States.
The prisoner release came as sanctions against Iran were lifted Saturday as part of its nuclear deal.
All seven had either been convicted or were awaiting trial in the United States on charges of violating sanctions or export control violations. “The United States also removed any Interpol red notices and dismissed any charges against 14 Iranians for whom it was assessed that extradition requests were unlikely to be successful”.
Asked whether Obama was involved in the decision to delay the sanctions, a senior US administration official said: “This absolutely requires the president’s approval and this is something he was briefed on regularly over many months”.
Kerry said Saturday the freed Americans and nuclear negotiations were both “vital breakthroughs”. The U.S.is hoping this isn’t a precedent.
US officials stressed that the Americans were a priority. “This is a humanitarian gesture”.
Prosecutors argued in court the naturalized US citizen, who lived in Staten Island, New York, acted as an agent of an Iranian procurement network and used a front company in Dubai to illegally acquire USA goods and technologies to be sent to Iran.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif earlier said that the imminent release of a United Nations compliance report would trigger “Implementation Day”, with Iran receiving billions in sanctions relief in return for limiting its nuclear activities.
The deal, a major step toward overcoming acrimony standing in the way of any further rapprochement between longtime foes Washington and Tehran, was the culmination of months of diplomatic contacts, secret talks and legal maneuvering.
At the last minute, the administration officials made a decision to delay a package of limited and targeted sanctions, the officials said. Hours later, Secretary of State John Kerry said they had all been released and would soon be on their way home. But the way it was quickly resolved allowed the parties to return to wrapping up negotiations on the prisoners.
The exchange also didn’t cover Siamak Namazi, an Iranian-American businessman who advocated better ties between Iran and the U.S. He was thought to have been arrested in October.
Separately, Robert Levinson disappeared in Iran in 2007 while working for the CIA on an unapproved intelligence mission.
Rezaian was detained in July, 22, 2014 together with his wife Yeganeh Salehi and a photojournalist. His wife is now quoted as confirming her husband’s release.
A fifth American, identified as Matthew Trevithick, was also being released as part of a separate process. After his arrest, his family says they were told to keep matter quiet.
The U.N. nuclear agency certified Saturday that Iran has met all of its commitments under last summer’s landmark nuclear deal, crowning years of U.S.-led efforts to crimp Iran’s ability to make atomic weapons.
“If the Americans take the appropriate actions vis-a-vis Iranian citizens who are being imprisoned here, then the right atmosphere and environment will be created for reciprocal action, perhaps”. We are continuing those conversations now.
Hekmati was detained in 2011, shortly before he was scheduled to leave Iran after visiting family.
He was later sentenced to death.
The punishment was later overturned, but Hekmati was later convicted of “cooperating with hostile governments” and sentenced to 10 years in prison, according to a website set up by his supporters.
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U.S. Republican presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Rand Paul are welcoming the release of Pastor Saeed Abedini in the U.S.-Iran prisoner swap and Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders says the exchange shows “diplomacy can work even in this volatile region of the world”.
