However, observers stressed on the necessity of Tehran avoiding mislaying the commitment through any mistake that could jeopardize the nuclear deal, which has finally relieved the economic sanctions that shackled Iran’s economy for decades.
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The five Americans freed included Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian and Amir Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine.
Not long before, his administration announced new sanctions against Iran – this time on 11 people and entities involved in the country’s ballistic missile program.
“This is a good day because once again we are seeing what’s possible through strong American diplomacy”, Obama said at the White House.
But Obama said “there remain profound differences between the US and Iran”, including the country’s violations of human rights and its ballistic missile program.
These sanctions and the new ones will continue to be enforced vigorously.
Those areas of concern include Iran’s recent ballistic missile tests and its firing of rockets near a USA military ship in December. “We are going to remain vigilant about it”.
The Anti-Defamation League, which opposed the nuclear deal, said on Saturday that Tehran’s release of several Iranian-American prisoners this weekend was a positive step.
“Today, we’re united in welcoming home sons and husbands and brothers who, in lonely prison cells, have endured an absolute nightmare”. In settling the claim, which had been tied up at the Hague Tribunal since 1981, the U.S.is returning the money in the fund along with “a roughly $1.3 billion compromise on the interest”, the statement said. Some firms may want to wait until they see the stance of the next US president towards Iran; many will worry about “reputational risk”, or exposure to legal action from shareholders or lobby groups, if they invest there.
Iranian authorities announced on Saturday that they have released four Iranian-Americans as part of a prisoner exchange with the USA, including Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian.
Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders says the exchange shows “diplomacy can work even in this volatile region of the world”.
Iranian-US ties broke down in 1979 after revolutionaries – angered at US support for the Iran’s deposed monarch – stormed the American embassy and took hostages.
A Saudi-led coalition is fighting Iranian-backed Shiite rebels in Yemen in a conflict that Gulf countries view as a proxy battle against Tehran.
Iran has always denied wanting nuclear weapons, saying its activities are exclusively for peaceful purposes.
Iran and its Lebanese ally the Hezbollah militia are key backers of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and potential spoilers as Washington tries to ease him out of office.
“For the United States, the settlement could save us billions of dollars that could have been pursued by Iran”.
Rohani said Iran’s nuclear deal signed in July in Vienna with the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China, and Germany was a win for all negotiating parties and all factions inside Iran.
His supporters accused the Iranian authorities of fabricating the charges.
A plane carrying the three Americans who’d wished to leave Iran after the prisoner swap was completed arrived on a U.S. Air Force base in Germany after a brief stop in Switzerland.
But it was the release of five Americans held in Iran that captured American attention and overshadowed the landmark conclusions of the nuclear agreement.
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”.
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Iran also promises more transparency in its nuclear program, letting United Nations nuclear inspectors monitor Tehran’s atomic plan.
