The swap came as the nuclear deal struck this summer between Iran and six world powers took effect Saturday evening, ending economic sanctions on the Islamic Republic tied to its nuclear pursuits.
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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani arrives for a press conference on January 17, 2016 in the capital Tehran after worldwide sanctions on Iran were lifted. “His arrest and incarceration were devastating to his many friends and family”, the attorneys said. Mr Kerry said in Vienna: “Today marks the first day of a safer world”. The executive order nullified all of the charges against him.
Some Iranian Americans said the negotiators ignored human rights violations in Iran. Iran’s Central Bank Governor, Valiollah Seif, was quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying that Iran will not transfer the cash and instead will use it to import the goods it needs.
But the historic moves were not hailed by all. President Obama also spoke this morning from the White House.
Rouhani dismissed such criticism during his speech Sunday to the Iranian parliament.
Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian, former U.S. Marine Amir Hekmati of Flint, Siamak Namazi, a businessman and the son of a politician from the shah’s era, were also released.
Speaking in the parliament in comments broadcast live on state television, Rouhani said, “In (implementing) the deal, all are happy except Zionists, warmongers, sowers of discord among Islamic nations and extremists in the U.S. The rest are happy”.
The implementation of the agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, was the culmination of almost two years of intense negotiations. Iran has always insisted its nuclear program is purely peaceful.
Tens of billions of dollars’ worth of Iranian assets will now be unfrozen and global companies that have been barred from doing business there will be able to exploit a market hungry for everything from automobiles to airplane parts.
A Saudi-led coalition is fighting Iranian-backed Shiite rebels in Yemen in a conflict that Gulf countries view as a proxy battle against Tehran. Freedom from crippling sanctions has been a key component of his pledge. Iran said he had taken off, too. Among those on board was The Washington Post s Tehran correspondent Jason Rezaian, who had been detained in Iran for almost 18 months. Iran is home to the world’s fourth-largest proven reserve of crude oil and ranks second in proven natural gas reserves behind Russian Federation. Another said “it’s his free determination where he wants to go”. It vowed to respond with more sanctions.
Iran also separately budgets some $190 billion for hundreds of government banks and companies. We said, ‘No, and no, and no. “And we are going to remain vigilant about it”. Tehran has said it will carry on with the missile program despite the new United States sanctions.
Rezaian had spent 445 days in captivity in Iran, the longest time an American has been held captive in the country, even longer than the American hostages in the 1979-80 Iran hostage crisis.
US President Barack Obama praised the deal as a breakthrough in diplomacy, but noted that “profound differences” with Tehran remained over its “destabilising activities”.
The deal was widely panned by Republicans and some Democrats, and the agreement has been brought up repeatedly on the campaign trail.
“All’s well that ends well”, he said.
Kerry said the prisoner swap and nearly simultaneous implementation of the nuclear deal raise the prospects of increased U.S.-Iranian cooperation on other matters.
“The U.S. stuck to its guns”, he added. And then there was a delay that any frequent flyer can relate to.
The administration says this weekend’s agreements won’t change that situation, but relations are clearly warming. “I think there is cautious optimism”.
“Clearly, it’s in the USA interest to resolve these (claims) in ways that reduce our risk”, a senior administration official told reporters in a conference call. Officials in Bahrain, a Sunni-ruled but Shiite-majority country, have accused Iran of attempting to smuggle in weapons in recent months.
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The Obama administration said it was prepared to test whether additional cooperation with Iran was possible, most notably in resolving the civil war in Syria. “Yesterday, the families finally got the news that they were waiting for”.
