The negotiated exchange eases one leading irritant as the two countries gingerly explore prospects for a smoother relationship after decades of hostility even as they remain sharply at odds on other fronts.
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A senior US official says the plane carrying Americans who had been imprisoned by Iran left Tehran on Sunday.
Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio roundly criticized President Barack Obama and his administration Sunday after the announcement that four Americans in Iran would be released in a prisoner swap.
In exchange for the American prisoners’ freedom, the United States is pardoning or commuting the sentences of an Iranian and six dual citizens of the United States and Iran in what Obama called a “one-time gesture”.
Kerry was deliberately vague about what happened next, but when Zarif took the proposed agreement back to Tehran, at least one Iranian government agency objected.
It was not immediately clear whether he opted to stay in Iran or depart separately or whether this uncertainty had in any way contributed to the delay. Another said “it’s his free determination where he wants to go”.
Update, 9:35 a.m.: The Associated Press reports that a USA official has confirmed the identities of three American detainees to be released, including Saeed Abdini.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani also celebrated the nuclear agreement Sunday and the corresponding lifting of economic sanctions, saying the deal “opens a new gate and prepares a new ground which should be employed to bring prosperity and progress to the country”. The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog in Vienna is expected to confirm Saturday that Iran has complied with its vow to constrain nuclear activity as part of last year’s landmark deal between Iran and six world powers.
Update, 9:39 a.m.: US and Iranian officials say Iran is releasing four detained Iranian-Americans in exchange for seven Iranians held or charged in the United States.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, officials said Khosravi-Roodsari, elected not to board the plane.
“It will be like Ronald Reagan, where as soon as he took office, the hostages were released from Iran”, Rubio said.
In a statement after the release of Rezaian, Washington Post Publisher Frederick Ryan said: “We are relieved that this 545-day nightmare for Jason and his family is finally over”.
The end of sanctions means more money and prestige for Shi’ite Muslim Iran as it becomes deeply embroiled in the sectarian conflicts of the Middle East, notably in the Syrian civil war where its allies are facing Sunni Muslim rebels. There are still many unknowns. “But we remain in hopeful anticipation until Amir is in our arms”.
Trevithick’s parents said in a statement that he had been held for 40 days in Evin Prison. “I am also heartened by the lifting of sanctions against Iran”, he said on a visit to Dubai, adding he hoped the parties honored a nuclear deal that made possible the lifting of curbs.
He is co-founder of a research center based in Turkey that assesses the humanitarian crisis in the area.
I am grateful to President Obama, Secretary Kerry and the entire Administration for never giving up on Amir and the other Americans that were held in Iran. Her rival for the Democratic nomination, Bernie Sanders, offered unreserved praise for the diplomacy.
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Iran has also agreed to investigate the whereabouts of retired Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Robert Levinson, who disappeared in Iran in 2007.
