“This is a good day because, once again, we’re seeing what’s possible with strong American diplomacy”, Obama said at the White House. There were no additional details.
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A fifth American, Matthew Trevithick, a researcher imprisoned for 40 days, was released separately of the swap; his name was also not previously reported. A statement from a senior White House official did not name specific prisoners and provided only sparse details. We have now been officially told that he is on a plane leaving the country.
About the recent release of five USA prisoners, who were according to him “unjustly detained by Iran”, the president noted that he had promised their families to bring them home. After the exchange happened yesterday, however, the United States went ahead with the sanctions anyhow.
The other two were understood to be Saeed Abedini, a Christian pastor, and former US Marine Amir Hekmati. Iran also promised to cooperate with the U.S.to locate Robert Levinson, the ex-CIA contractor who disappeared in Iran in 2007, reports CBS News.
The settlement comes as the U.S.is unfreezing a much larger pool of Iranian assets, estimated at between $100-$150 billion, as part of the nuclear deal. Rouhani on Sunday called on global enterprisers to participate in its economy after the comprehensive deal on Tehran’s nuclear program officially took effect on Saturday.
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders says the exchange shows “diplomacy can work even in this volatile region of the world”.
Obama also said that the USA offered clemency to seven Iranians, who had been convicted or are pending trial in the U.S.
In an address to the nation on Sunday, Obama heralded the release of the five Americans as a “smart” diplomacy move.
Huffman said the freed prisoners are expected to be transported to a USA military hospital in Germany for medical evaluation.
“If people want to say that they were for leaving these Americans in prison, they should say so”.
Obama said the released Iranians weren’t charged with terrorism. Zarif, Secretary of State John Kerry, and the other leaders and diplomats involved in crafting the agreement are now all in Vienna to meet and confirm that Iran has met its commitments. Iran denies official involvement in his disappearance.
“We remain steadfast in opposing Iran’s destabilizing behavior… including its threats against Israel and our Gulf partners, and its support for violent proxies in places like Syria and Yemen”, Obama said.
In return, the U.S.is pardoning or commuting the sentences of an Iranian and six dual citizens.
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The Obama administration official isn’t saying whether all four Americans were on the plane, just that those “who wished to depart Iran have left”. The fourth individual was not clearly identified.
