Three Iranian-Americans arrived in Germany after leaving Tehran yesterday in a prisoner swap following the lifting of most worldwide sanctions on Iran under a deal U.S. President Barack Obama said had cut off Tehran’s path to a nuclear bomb.
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“This deal, to bring back Americans who were wrongly imprisoned, we released seven terrorists who had helped Iran with their nuclear program, and we agreed not to prosecute another 14 terrorists for doing the same thing”, he added. But in that confirmation, the administration official said only detained US citizens “who wished to depart Iran” had left, suggesting some may not have gone.
President Barack Obama leaves the podium after speaking about the release of Americans by Iran, Sund … The Washington Post also released a statement confirming that Mr. Rezaian, a reporter for the newspaper, and his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, had left Iran.
Iranian, dual citizens freed in U.S. Clinton also called for fresh sanctions against Iran over the country’s ballistic missile program – which, a day later, the Treasury Department implemented.
Obama insisted that the United States remains vigilant in confronting Iranian mischief in the region, addressing a key anxiety expressed by Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. “And in fact some of them weren’t even charged”, Rubio said.
An Idaho pastor, Saeed Abedini, and a businessman, Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari, were also among those released in the swap with the U.S. Another official with knowledge of the flight confirmed for the Free Press that Hekmati and Rezaian were on the plane to Germany, where they would undergo medical evaluations.
The men had been involved in exporting products and services to Iran in violation of trade sanctions against the country. “The Iranians know where he is, or we believe they do”.
Yet since the interim Joint Plan of Action was signed between the P5+1 and Iran in November 2013 (less than two years before the full nuclear accord would be in effect), Washington and Tehran have slowly gotten around to viewing each other as adversaries that could make deals on some selective issues rather than enemies to be shunned or ignored.
The United States will return Iranian money held since the hostage crisis of 1979-81 with interest – but far less than Iran had been seeking, Mr. Obama said. He then spoke at length about the achievement of Implementation Day, saying, “Today marks the first day of a safer world…”
The new sanctions are mostly aimed at individuals and some small companies accused of shipping crucial technologies to Iran, including carbon fiber and missile parts that can survive re-entry forces. “There were many sceptics who said Iran would never deliver on its side of the bargain, but the independent International Atomic Energy Agency has said they have”.
President Barack Obama speaks about the release of Americans by Iran, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2016, in the …
The exchange went a long way toward resolving an increasingly emotional side dispute between the two countries, one complicated by a legacy of hostility and mistrust built over the 35 years since the Islamic Revolution and the American hostage crisis in Tehran, where 52 Americans were held for 444 days. American officials have said they are still working to have him released.
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However, the attorney for Bahram Mechanich, one of the seven, told CNN his client was pardoned along with two others – Tooraj Faridi and Khosro Afghahi.
