A fifth American detained in Iran, a student, was released in a move unrelated to a prisoner swap earlier between the two countries.
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Lifting sanctions would unfreeze billions of dollars of assets and allow Iranian oil to be sold internationally.
The four Americans released in Iran under the negotiated prisoner exchange included Washington Post reporter Jason Razaian, former U.S. Marine Amir Hekmati and Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari, and were still in that country Sunday as arrangements progressed to get them out, said a senior Obama administration official as reported by Fox News early Sunday morning. USA officials haven’t said anything about that case other than that he was jailed within the past year.
The United States also agreed to drop charges against 14 other Iranians whose extradition to the United States seemed unlikely, a US official said.
The release, originally reported by Iranian state media, has been confirmed by US officials.
The exchange did not cover Siamak Namazi, an Iranian-American businessman who advocated better ties between Iran and the US and who reportedly was arrested in October, or former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Robert Levinson, who disappeared in Iran in 2007 on an unauthorized Central Intelligence Agency mission.
“As many of you know, Amir’s father is very ill and soon he will embrace his son once more”, the family statement said. “But once again, Bob Levinson has been left behind”.
“Friends and colleagues at The Washington Post are elated by the wonderful news that Jason Rezaian has been released from Evin Prison and has safely left the country with his wife, Yeganeh Salehi”.
The official report did not identify the prisoners, and USA officials would not immediately confirm the announcement. Supporters say he has been denied proper legal representation.
“We look forward to the joyous occasion of welcoming him back to the Washington Post newsroom”, publisher Frederick J. Ryan Jr. said in a statement. “We consistently said it was independent from the nuclear negotiations but of great importance to us”. He said the start of his presidency would be like that of Ronald Reagan in 1981, when Iran released hostages taken at the American embassy in Tehran in 1979.
In Vienna, Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters that discussions to free the Americans had “accelerated in light of the relationships forged and the diplomatic channels unlocked over the course of the nuclear talks”.
In praising the “tireless” effort that went into the prisoner exchange, U.S. President Barack Obama said that the clemency granted to the Iranian prisoners was a “one-time gesture”. He was sentenced to death, but that was commuted to a 10-year prison term. His family says he has lost significant weight and has trouble breathing, raising fears he could contact tuberculosis.
We’re so thankful Jason has been released. “At this point, we are hoping and praying for Amir’s long-awaited return”. He had been sentenced to eight years in prison. Abedini was previously arrested in 2009 and released after promising to stop organizing churches in homes. His 2012 arrest came during a trip to help build a state-run secular orphanage. Pastor Abedini’s imprisonment and torture is a reminder of the vigilance required to preserve and promote not just our First Freedom as Americans, but the basic human right of the freedom of religion.
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“We’re delighted this day has finally arrived”, ACLJ Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow said in a statement. “Surely bad parts of Obama’s latest deal, but prayers of thanksgiving that Pastor Saeed is coming home”.
