Rezaian and two other Americans-Saeed Abedini and Amir Hekmati-flew to Germany after being freed. In October 2015, Iranian news outlets reported that Rezaian had been convicted but did not provide information on charges.
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Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said it sets a “really risky precedent” for future prisoner negotiations.
In his address, the President also spoke about the nuclear accord with Iran.
Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, former US Marine Amir Hekmati, pastor Saeed Abedini and Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari, whose name had not been previously made public, were freed from custody in Iran and have begun their journey home on Sunday, US officials said.
In an internal memo to Post staff, Executive Editor Martin Baron and Foreign Editor Douglas Jehl said they had spoken briefly by telephone with Rezaian, who was being evaluated at a US military hospital in Germany.
During his speech, the president also said that a fifth US citizen student, Matthew Trevithick, imprisoned by Iran was released as well separately Saturday.
The sanctions were delayed until Sunday, after the US detainees left Iran.
The prisoner swap comes a day after global inspectors concluded Tehran was in compliance with the deal governing its nuclear program.
Through interviews with attorneys and a review of court records, Reuters has identified seven cases in which the United States offered clemency for Iranians serving sentences or awaiting trial in the United States.
The U.S. and Iran are entering a new phase in their relationship.
The United States is scheduled to release $100 billion in frozen assets held in worldwide banks and will lift a ban imposed on companies and countries to conduct business with the Islamic Republic.
Mr. Kerry said in a separate appearance on CNN’s “New Day” he believes the Americans would have been released even if the sanctions had not been lifted.
Although implementation will open the door to some trade between the USA and Iran, it will not result in the US overlooking other areas of concern about Tehran, said State Department spokesman Mark Toner. It vowed to respond with more sanctions.
Prosecutors argued in court the naturalized USA citizen, who lived in Staten Island, New York, acted as an agent of an Iranian procurement network and used a front company in Dubai to illegally acquire US goods and technologies to be sent to Iran. In Yemen, a U.S.-supported, Saudi-led coalition is fighting to roll back gains by Iranian-backed Shiite rebels. Rouhani said economic ties would not be fully restored.
As the nuclear deal with Tehran goes into effect, many Middle Eastern countries fear a newly emboldened Iran, flush with cash and worldwide recognition, will grow more aggressive with what they see as meddling in conflicts across the region.
Yesterday, the United Nations nuclear watchdog verified that Iran has fulfilled its requirements to dismantle its nuclear program as part of the worldwide agreement reached last summer.
He also said that Tehran had agreed to deepen coordination with the U.S.in trying to locate former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Robert Levinson, who disappeared nearly nine years ago during a visit to Iran. Over the years, Iran moved closer and closer to having the ability to build a nuclear weapon.
Rouhani, a moderate whose 2013 election victory helped launch the huge diplomatic effort toward the deal, has promised that the lifting of sanctions will give a major boost to Iran’s economy. The EU likewise ended all nuclear-related economic and financial sanctions against the country.
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Any U.S. move to unilaterally undercut the agreement would be viewed poorly by the other world powers involved in the agreement, said Davenport.
