Iran Releasing 5 American Detainees; America Releasing 7 Iranians

Iranian and US officials announced the release of four Iranian-Americans held in Iranian prisons on various charges, including Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian.

In late July 2014, Iran confirmed that four journalists, including Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian, had been arrested and were being held for questioning.

The prisoner exchange between the USA and Iran capped 14 months of secret diplomacy and talks between Washington and Tehran as the US and world powers negotiated the pact to curb Iran’s nuclear program, reflecting a thaw in relations between the sworn enemies. And Kerry linked the trust built between Iran and the United States over the past two years of talks to the breakthrough release by Iran Saturday of four Americans who also hold Iranian nationality.

In exchange, decades of economic sanctions on the Western Asian country are to be lifted. Iranian media outlets are reporting that Rezaian has been released. “Many in Iran have long called for national reconciliation through the release of political prisoners, Green Movement leaders, and those behind bars since the peaceful protests that followed the disputed 2009 election in Iran”.

In an interview with the Guardian, presidential candidate Rand Paul described the swap as “a hopeful sign about the agreement” and a sign that the USA needed “to continue to try to see if negotiations will work”.

We are profoundly grateful to all those who worked for his release and are happy for all the families whose loved ones are also heading home.

But Abedini’s return to the United States may be hard, in part because of the religious overlay of his imprisonment.

A statement from the judiciary said the swap had been ordered by the Supreme National Security Council, the nation’s top security committee, in line with national interests.

Mr Khosravi’s occupation, and why he was in prison, are not known.

The reporter lived in Tehran since 2008 and began work for the Post in 2012.

“I have been going wild for years about the prisoners”.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio – who last spring joined 20 other senators in penning a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry saying that the Obama administration should push for the prisoners’ release as part of the Iran nuclear deal’s negotiations – said at a town hall in Johnston, Iowa, that situation “tells us all we need to know about the Iranian regime”.

This week, two U.S. Navy patrol boats briefly strayed into Iranian territorial waters and their crews were briefly detained.

The article said she believed Abedini’s problems had grown during his time in prison in Iran. But they had indicated a prisoner deal would be separate from Saturday’s expected “implementation” of the nuclear pact.

“We thank everyone for your thoughts during this time”, Hekmati’s family said in a statement early Saturday afternoon.

As president, she said, her approach to Iran would be to “distrust and verify” while enforcing the nuclear deal.

Ali Rezaian’s spokesperson said: “We can not confirm anything at this point but are hearing the same reports you are”.

The seven people being released from American custody will provide Iran with significant expertise in how to evade missile and nuclear control sanctions and how not to get caught next time, Sherman added.

USA officials who recounted the complex process that led to the prisoner deal stuck to that assertion but acknowledged that the nuclear deal had opened up a channel of communication about the American detainees that they were eager to use. He’s a U.S. Marine who was picked up while visiting his grandmother in 2011.

Separately, Robert Levinson disappeared in Iran in 2007 while working for the CIA on an unapproved intelligence mission. Iranian officials had repeatedly denied any knowledge of his disappearance or whereabouts.

The Islamic Republic News Agency identified the seven being freed from US jails as Nader Modanlo, Bahram Mechanic, Khosrow Afghani, Arash Ghahreman, Tooraj Faridi, Nima Golestaneh and Ali Saboun.