American writer and researcher Matt Trevithick was released separately from the prisoner swap, and has reportedly left Iran.
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Speaking Sunday, Obama heralded obtaining freedom for the prisoners who were released and also the full implementation of a historic nuclear accord with the Islamic Republic, holding both up as victories for “smart” diplomacy and his pledge to deal directly with enemies of the United States. The men have said they were selling parts for surge protectors that shield computers from thunderstorms, according to The Washington Post.
(CNN) – Iran has announced the release of five detained Americans after global inspectors said Tehran is in compliance with a deal to restrict its nuclear program.
Officials from the US and Iran confirmed the prisoner swap on Saturday following a reported 14 months of secret negotiations.
In addition to Rezaian, the Americans freed Saturday included Saeed Abedini, 35, of Boise, Idaho; Amir Mirzaei Hekmati, 32, of Flint, Mich.; and Khosravi-Roodsari, U.S. and Iranian officials said.
Matthew Trevithick, the fifth American citizen released by Iran in what USA officials called a “goodwill gesture”, had already left the country.
The statement came before world powers implemented last July’s nuclear deal and lifted sanctions on Iran. “I have been held here for three and a half years”, he said in the video.
“We actually shook hands thinking we had an agreement”, Kerry said.
Obama said the US will continue to search for Robert Levinson, a USA citizen long missing in Iran.
The five Americans had been detained in separate cases, some as early as 2011. “I’ve seen their anguish – how they ached for their husbands and sons”, Obama said. The charges against Rezaian were never officially made public by Iranian prosecutors, though the journalist’s attorney said he was facing indictments for espionage and dissemination of anti-government propaganda.
Robert Levinson, who disappeared in Iran in 2007 while working for the CIA on an unapproved intelligence mission, wasn’t part of the deal. Iran denies official involvement in his disappearance. “But once again, Bob Levinson has been left behind”.
U.S. State Department officials Brett McGurk, who helped to negotiate their release, and Patrick Kennedy, the department’s Under Secretary of State for Management, had been standing by to greet the prisoners on arrival in Geneva.
“Personally, this does not make me feel any gratitude toward the nation of Iran”, he said.
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.
The men allegedly had been involved in exporting products and services to Iran in violation of trade sanctions against the country. The group will board another plane headed to a US base in Germany.
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State television said the seven Iranians – Nader Modanlou, Baharam Mechanic, Khosrow Afghahi, Arash Ghahreman, Tooraj Faridi, Nima Golestaneh, and Ali Saboonchi – “will be freed today”.
