News of the releases came after Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif predicted that global sanctions against his country would be lifted.
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Faridi was “overjoyed” at news of the pardon and plans to stay in the United States because it’s his home, Schaffer said.
Rezaian grew up in Terra Linda and is a dual citizen of Iran and the U.S. Held on suspicion of being a spy, Rezaian suffered health problems, lost 40 lbs., and was growing depressed, according to his mother. Obama had said that the administration feared that tying the American prisoners to the nuclear agreement would make it harder to walk away from the nuclear talks if Iran was demanding too much. “We give this message of peace, stability and security to the region and to the world as we protect Iran’s dignity”, the Iranian president said.
The swapped group included Americans Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post journalist, and Saeed Abedini, a Christian pastor from Idaho.
The surprise release of five Americans held in Iran has helped a vulnerable President Barack Obama put his political foes on the back foot.
USA federal officials said they will not comment on the names of anyone who is part of the agreement until after the four Americans are in US custody.
A fifth man – described as a recently detained student named Matthew Trevithick – was separately released, US officials said.
President Hassan Rouhani hailed on Sunday a nuclear deal with world powers as a “golden page” in Iran’s history, and looked forward to an economic future less dependent on oil as the country emerges from years of sanctions and isolation.
He said the deal was an opportunity for Iran’s economy to cut its “umbilical cord” to oil while prices were low.
But not all news was good for Tehran: The U.S. on Sunday imposed new sanctions against 11 individuals and entities involved in Iran’s ballistic missile program as a result of Tehran’s firing of a medium-range ballistic missile in October. “We whittled down the list to exclude anyone that was charged with crime related to violence, with terrorism”.
Rezaian, who has covered Iran for the Post since 2012, grew up in Marin County, California, and spent most of his life in the United States.
But there were some bumps and missteps along the road to Saturday’s prisoner announcement.
Iran is still seeking to achieve nuclear military capabilities, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday, after a deal with world powers scaling down Tehran’s nuclear abilities was implemented.
Kerry and other top aides to Obama, who was vacationing in Hawaii, convened a series of conference calls and concluded they could not risk losing the chance to free Americans held by Tehran.
Asked if Levinson was dead or alive, Kerry said, “We have no idea”.
“All oppressive sanctions imposed against Iran will be annulled today”, Zarif said on Iranian state TV, AP reported.
One more Iranian-American released under the same swap, Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari, was not aboard the aircraft.
In return, the United States will either pardon or drop charges against seven Iranians – six of them dual citizens – accused or convicted of violating USA sanctions.
“It is confirmed: Saeed is released from Iranian prison”, Abedini’s wife, Naghmeh Abedini, wrote on Twitter even before official USA confirmation.
The releases appear to leave unresolved the fate of Robert Levinson, a former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent and Central Intelligence Agency contractor who disappeared after visiting Iran in 2007. U.S. officials have believed for several years that Levinson died in captivity. The Iranians have always denied knowing his location.
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“This is important as part of the fixed policy between us and the United States, our ally, and also important in order to fend off the regional threats, chief of which is the Iranian threat, of course”, he said.
