The Washington Post reporter who was released from Iran as part of a prisoner swap with the US said Monday that “physically, I’m feeling good” after enduring 18 months in captivity, the Post reported. At the same time, amid criticism that Iran receives a financial windfall under the terms of the deal, he announced new sanctions against Tehran targeting its ballistic missile program.
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“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.
His comments came after diplomatic sources said the United Nations nuclear watchdog would likely say Iran had complied with last July ” s landmark agreement with world powers on Tehran ” s atomic programme. The funds were part of a trust fund once used by Iran to purchase military equipment from the United States, which was tied up for decades in litigation at the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal in The Hague.
In addition to Rezaian, U.S. Marine veteran Amir Hekmati and Christian pastor Saeed Abedini also left Iran after their release over the weekend.
One more Iranian-American released under the same swap, Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari, was not aboard the aircraft.
Asked before the new sanctions were announced how Iran would react to fresh measures against it, Rouhani on Sunday had said: “Any action will be met by a reaction”.
“For the United States, the settlement could save us billions of dollars that could have been pursued by Iran”.
Jason Rezaian, who was born in San Francisco and grew up in Marin County, is one of three Americans flying home Sunday.
“I think the first thing he asked for was some information”, Ali Rezaian said.
“The US sanctions against Iran’s ballistic missile program… have no legal or moral legitimacy”, Reuters cited Ansari as saying in a televised news conference.
Jared Huffman, who represents Rezaian and has been involved in his case, said Rezaian, Hekmati and Abedini won’t be on US soil for a few days.
“If people want to say that they were for leaving these Americans in prison, they should say so”.
But Kerry said the successful talks over prisoners and nuclear matters raise the prospects of more U.S.-Iranian cooperation on other matters.
“The Iranian missiles have never been designed for carrying the nuclear weapons and does not go counter to any global principles”, Ansari stressed.
President Barack Obama leaves the podium after speaking about the release of Americans by Iran, Sund …
FILE – In this video frame grab image made from the Iranian broadcaster IRIB TV, U.S. citizen Amir Mirzaei Hekmati, accused by Iran of spying for the Central Intelligence Agency, sits in Tehran’s revolutionary court, in Iran, Dec. 27, 2011.
In Tehran, ordinary Iranians were cautious about what the future holds after the lifting of sanctions.
“If Iran does act in a more constructive fashion, it would be a positive development in resolving hard issues”, the White House officials said.
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But after the nuclear talks moved to Vienna and dragged on, he chose to send the lead negotiator on the matter, Brett McGurk, and State Department aide Patrick Kennedy, to await the Americans’ arrival.
