The fourth Iranian-American released as part of the swap, Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari, has not yet left Tehran, senior United States officials said.
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But not all news was good for Tehran: The U.S. on Sunday imposed new sanctions against 11 individuals and entities involved in Iran’s ballistic missile program as a result of Tehran’s firing of a medium-range ballistic missile in October.
Though there was no official government confirmation of who was on the plane that landed at Ramstein Air Base, a US military facility in southwest Germany, it’s believed Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian, Marine veteran Amir Hekmati and Christian pastor Saeed Abedini were all on the same aircraft.
The Washington Post confirmed that Rezaian has “safely left” Iran with his wife, Yeganeh Salehi.
The announcement of the exchange came shortly before Iran was certified as having met all commitments under the nuclear deal with six world powers.
Obama welcomed the Americans’ release, saying: “When Americans are freed, that’s something we can all celebrate”.
From Geneva the three former detainees and two family members were scheduled to travel to a USA military base in Germany, the Swiss Foreign Ministry has said. “But at the same time, this deal is a really problematic deal and it reflects a pattern we’ve seen in the Obama administration over and over again of negotiating with terrorists and making deals and trades that endanger USA safety and security”, Sen. They say his arrest and incarceration were “devastating” to his friends and family and that he’s grateful for his release.
In a statement, Kildee addressed Hekmati, saying, “Amir, I can not wait to meet you for the first time, give you a big hug, and welcome you home”.
The Republican presidential candidate dismissed Obama’s description of the historic nuclear accord with Iran and the release of five Americans held by the regime as an example of successful diplomacy. “At this point, we are hoping and praying for Amir’s long-awaited return”. The Obama administration, which was preparing for the sanctions in December, postponed them following the warning, the report added, citing USA and congressional officials briefed on the swap.
“What is clear is that Iran will now have more resources to dedicate to their terrorism and aggression in the region and in the world, and Israel is prepared to deal with any threat”, he said, the AP reported.
“Asked how he was doing, he said, ‘I’m a hell of a lot better than I was 48 hours ago, ‘” the Post said in a memo to Post staff, which was released by the newspaper.
The five Americans had been detained in separate cases, some as early as 2011. Levinson, a former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent and Central Intelligence Agency contractor, went missing in Iran in 2007.
Kerry said he would remain at work on other Americans still being held in Iran.
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”.
“We can confirm that our detained USA citizens have been released and that those who wished to depart Iran have left”. The U.S. also dropped charges against 14 Iranians outside the U.S.
A United States government jet was standing by to greet the trio who were among four USA inmates freed as part of the exchange on Saturday.
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Western media have named the Iranians as Nader Modanlo, Bahram Mechanic, Khosrow Afghahi, Arash Ghahreman, Tooraj Faridi, Nima Golestaneh, and Ali Saboonchi.
