The Post and the US government have denied the accusations, as has Rezaian. There were no additional details.
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“Those who wished to depart Iran have left”, according to a senior USA official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter and privacy concerns for the families. Doug Jehl, the Post’s foreign editor, said last fall that it seemed like “Jason is not really a prisoner, he’s a bargaining chip being used by the Iranian government to extract some concessions from the U.S”. “We don’t make that judgment”.
The four Americans released in Iran under the negotiated prisoner exchange were still in that country early Sunday as arrangements progressed to get them out, a senior Obama administration official said. “We are devastated”, Levinson’s family said on its Facebook page.
Ryan’s statement noted that Iran also released other Americans and said “our hope is that those who remain held will soon follow”.
Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian has been released from Evin Prison in Tehran and has left Iran, his newspaper said in a statement Sunday.
Iranian, dual citizens freed in U.S.
Three Iranian-Americans left Tehran on Sunday under a prisoner swap following the lifting of sanctions on Iran that is likely to thaw ties further with the United States as Tehran emerges from years of worldwide isolation.
US officials said the Iranians were either sentenced or awaiting trial in the United States but were not associated with terrorism.
They had all been indicted or imprisoned for sanctions violations, and six of the seven are dual citizens.
“This is a good day”, President Barack Obama said from the White House.
He added: “Iran also agreed to deepen our coordination as we work to locate Robert Levinson”.
Analysts said he was treated like a pawn amid the nuclear negotiations and internal political battles in Iran. “With the nuclear deal done, prisoners released, the time was right to resolve this dispute as well”.
In addition, the US will drop Interpol “red notices” – essentially arrest warrants – on 14 Iranian fugitives it has sought, officials said.
Swiss Foreign Ministry spokesman Jean-Marc Crevoisier confirmed that the jet that touched down after dark Sunday was the one with the Americans on board. “We shouldn’t be involved in swaps”, he said, according to TIME.
Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Michigan, said Hekmati’s father had fallen ill in the more than four years that his son has been detained. “But we remain in hopeful anticipation until Amir is in our arms”.
In 2011 a video was sent to the family in which Levinson was seen begging for help. “And we believe that today marks the benefits of that choice”.
Faridi’s attorney told CNN affiliate KPRC that his client never posed a threat to the country.
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”. But the fates of three other Americans, including former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Robert Levinson, were unknown.
They describe him as “a beloved and hard-working family man and American” and say “he has a bright future ahead”. But once again, Bob Levinson has been left behind. The Post noted that “the most honest explanation of his imprisonment came in media accounts that accused him of conspiring to improve relations between the United States and Iran, something that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has sworn to prevent”.
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The lawyer for Mechanic, who has been jailed since his indictment last April on charges of illegally exporting microelectronics technology to Iran, said his client was “elated” to be pardoned.
