Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian who was held in captivity since 2012.
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Three Iranian-American citizens freed by Iran in a prisoner swap with the United States have left Tehran and are flying to Bern in Switzerland, reports from both capitals said Sunday.
Matthew Trevithick, a student, was released after 40 days of detention at Evin Prison in Tehran, according to a statement from his parents.
The other three were Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post’s Tehran correspondent; Saeed Abedini, a Christian pastor; and former US Marine Amir Hekmati.
MARTIN: Let’s start with the prisoner swap.
Negotiations over detainees grew out of the Iran nuclear talks.
His public defenders, Lucius Outlaw and Elizabeth Oyer, say Saboonchi was born in the US and is raising a family here.
During almost a dozen meetings to discuss a possible prisoner swap, Kerry said he urged their release on humanitarian grounds although he anxious that the prisoner release could be complicated by Iranian politics.
“What is clear is that Iran will now have more resources to dedicate to their terrorism and aggression in the region and in the world, and Israel is prepared to deal with any threat”, he said. And it was quite controversial, actually, and quite a gamble because the Iranian interlocutor was a member of Iranian intelligence.
Swiss Foreign Ministry spokesman Jean-Marc Crevoisier confirmed that the jet that touched down after dark Sunday was the one with the Americans on board. “Today, the Obama administration will begin lifting economic sanctions on the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism”. But realistically, there was no other way to get our people back.
“For a long time, this didn’t move because of the people they were asking for”, Kerry recalled.
It is believed that Iran may be holding at least two other Americans, but neither the Iranian or USA government has acknowledged that. They took place on separate tracks. And it was really quite touching.
A congressional source told Fox News the deal was not officially a swap because “innocent Americans held against their will” were exchanged for Iranian nationals, “some convicted of federal crimes”.
A fifth American was released separately from the exchange. At one point, he worked as your research assistant. “He is a good man, and we will be happy to put this ordeal behind him”.
WRIGHT: Matt worked for me in 2009, when I was looking at working on a book. That work included time at the American University of Afghanistan and the American University of Iraq.
Trevithick had traveled to Iran in September for a language program at an institute associated with Tehran University.
The seven who were given clemency are listed below. Another man was convicted of providing satellite consulting services to Iran, which helped the country launch a satellite in 2005.
In addition, the US will drop Interpol “red notices” – or arrest warrants – on 14 Iranian fugitives it has sought. There’s something called a red notice that notifies other countries to be on the alert for them.
He was arrested in Turkey in November 2013 and extradited to the United States last February.
Most of those held by the United States, The Wall Street Journal noted, “were tied to violations of USA export laws and the sales of dual-use equipment that could be used in Iran’s military or nuclear program”.
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The UN nuclear watchdog announced late Saturday that Iran had complied with its side of the July 2015 accord, allowing the lifting of sanctions. What will be the immediate impact, do you think?
