In exchange, seven Iranians who had been charged or convicted for sanctions violations were pardoned by the USA side.
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The three later left Geneva and arrived in Germany, according to a U.S. State Department official.
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”.
China continues to place higher priority on supporting the North Korean regime, and the U.S.is comfortable blaming Beijing for the ineffectiveness of sanctions.
Hingham native and Boston University graduate Matthew Trevithick was among the freed USA captives, though officials said his release was not part of the prisoner swap.
US Special Envoy in the war against ISIS, Brett McGurk, met Jason and the other Americans at the airport in Geneva when the plane landed.
-By Tom Strong in Washington.
Under the deal, Iran admitted to cap its nuclear activities in return to lifting sanctions from the country.
Rouhani said Iran should use the expected influx of money and investments to spark the “economic mutation” of the country, creating jobs and enhancing quality-of-life for Iranian citizens.
Only after Kerry called Zarif were allowed to board the plane that took the released prisoners to Switzerland, the first stop on their trip home.
Rezaian was arrested in July 2014 and sentenced in November to a prison term.
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.
But opening up to the world can not completely fix the economy, President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday in a televised speech, warning that the “difficult road has just begun”.
“Ali Saboonchi is a beloved and hard-working family man and American”. Some Republicans say the prisoner exchange could mean Iran seizes more Americans as hostages to facilitate future trades. The US treasury yesterday imposed sanctions on 11 companies and individuals connected to Iran’s ballistic missile programme.
Obama waited to speak Sunday until after the American prisoners held by Iran had cleared Iranian airspace.
Rouhani may have pushed for the rapid implementation of Iran’s commitments under last summer’s nuclear deal, ensuring faster sanctions relief, with the electoral timetable in mind.
Ban was speaking in Dubai at the opening of an event about improving the delivery of global humanitarian aid.
He also said Iran now needs political tranquility to best benefit from the new economic reality.
Israel’s opposition was evident in a statement from the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday night, which said that even after signing the nuclear deal, Iran had not yet “abandoned its aspirations to acquire nuclear weapons”. The Obama administration, which was preparing for the sanctions in December, postponed them following the warning, the report added, citing US and congressional officials briefed on the swap.
Tehran newspapers largely welcomed the implementation of the deal.
Iran is “not a threat to any government or nation”. The EU likewise ended all nuclear-related economic and financial sanctions against the country. The net result was to suffocate Iran, which derives the bulk of its income from oil exports. The black market rate is 36,000 Iranian rials to the dollar while the official rate is 30,000 rials for a dollar.
Iran also separately budgets some $190 billion for hundreds of government banks and companies.
Rouhani said the deal has “opened new windows for engagement with the world”.
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The Vienna agreement was nailed down after two years of rollercoaster negotiations following Rouhani’s election.
