Three Americans freed by Iran on Sunday landed at Geneva airport in Switzerland around 1700 GMT (2 p.m. ET), a Swiss Foreign Ministry spokesman told Reuters, and were due to head to a military base in Germany.
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In addition, the US will drop Interpol “red notices” – essentially arrest warrants – on 14 Iranian fugitives it has sought, officials said.
Neither US nor Swiss officials had explicitly named those on board the plane, but McGurk’s tweet confirmed reports that the three freed prisoners were Rezaian, Saeed Abedini, a Christian pastor, and former US Marine Amir Hekmati.
The four prisoners were released as part of an exchange which included the release of seven Iranians and Iranian-Americans in US custody.
His family previously said they were “profoundly grateful” for his release.
According to the official IRNA news agency, the seven freed Iranians are Nader Modanlo, Bahram Mechanic, Khosrow Afghahi, Arash Ghahraman, Tooraj Faridi, Nima Golestaneh and Ali Saboonchi. He says their support gave Jason’s family the strength to keep fighting for his release.
“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.
Kerry said the nuclear agreement provided the key impetus.
Rezaian’s family issued a statement Sunday, saying “this nightmare is approaching an end”. USA officials have said they are not sure he is still alive, but said that Iran has “committed to continue cooperating with the United States to determine the whereabouts of…” Last year, he was indicted on charges he illegaly exported millions of dollars in US technology to Iran.
Trevithick’s release was not part of the prisoner swap, but USA officials did “indicate to Foreign Minister Zarif that it’d be important for them to try to resolve some of the other cases of Americans detained in the context of this ‘deal, ‘” a senior administration official told CNN.
Israel remains steadfastly opposed to the Iran deal and any rapprochement with Tehran.
The proposed budget predicts an exchange rate of $1 US dollar to 29,970 Iranian rials. Six of them have dual U.S.-Iranian citizenship, and it is unclear if these individuals will leave the U.S. for Iran.
The Post’s editors said the reporter had become a hostage to the nuclear talks, being detained at the behest of hardline opponents of President Hassan Rouhani within Iran’s regime.
One of the last hiccups that delayed the Americans’ departure was an Iranian military official’s misunderstanding about Rezaian’s wife and mother joining him on the flight.
The discussions then gained speed after last July’s nuclear deal.
The US and Iranian presidents hailed the implementation of Tehran’s nuclear deal as historic, even as new American sanctions threatened fresh tensions.
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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. It said that after landing in Switzerland it didn’t specify where the five passengers will continue to a USA base in Germany. Taherkhani was accused in 2014 of using a Dubai front company to buy U.S.-made marine navigation equipment for use in Iran, in violation of sanctions. Iranians have “reached out to the world in a sign of friendliness, and leaving behind the enmities, suspicions and plots, have opened a new chapter in the relations of Iran with the world”, he said.
