Jason Rezaian, Washington Post Journalist Freed Under Prisoner Swap, Leaves Iran

The four prisoners were released as part of an exchange which included the release of seven Iranians and Iranian-Americans in US custody.

The person in Iran said the four were freed Saturday in exchange for the release of seven Iranians held in USA prisons. There were no additional details.

The fourth is Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari, whose name had not been previously made public.

“We have no further information to share at this time and would ask that everyone respect the privacy of these individuals and their families”.

“We are relieved that this 545-day nightmare for Jason and his family is finally over”, publisher Frederick J. Ryan, Jr.

Now a free man, Jason will be reunited with his family, including his brother Ali, his most effective and tireless advocate. The Post, US officials and Rezaian’s family have all called for his release.

Naghmeh Abedini, the pastor’s wife, said, “This has been an answer to prayer”.

But the timing of the trade, and of a “separate but clearly associated good-will gesture” release of a fifth American, fed Republican fears that Tehran had used the prisoners as leverage for sanctions negotiations – and that the trade set a precedent of acceding to those who hold hostages.

The departure of three American prisoners from Tehran, released as part of a swap following the lifting of sanctions on Iran was at least partly delayed by a “temporary misunderstanding” about whether two relatives were on the plane.

Rezaian, a California-born Iranian-American, was detained in July 2014 and later convicted after a trial on charges of espionage and other crimes against national security.

Donald Trump also questioned the exchange, which came on the same day that sanctions were lifted on Iran, saying that Iran was getting more in the deal than the United States.

The deal comes after more than a year of secret negotiations, the officials said.

But Rezaian, a bureau chief for the Post in Tehran since 2012, appeared to have been a victim of both global and Iranian domestic politics.

It is believed that Mr Rezaian and the three other prisoners were being flown to Switzerland before being taken to a U.S. military base in Germany for medical treatment.

Levinson’s case was aggressively pursued, officials said, adding that Iran has committed to continue cooperating in trying to determine Levinson’s whereabouts. The four other Americans had not yet departed, the officials said. There is hope “that having Amir back gives him some strength”. “But we should never take our eye off the ball because we don’t want Iran to be able to gain the upper hand over our Arab allies”.

“I’ve met with some of the families”.

Earlier, an unnamed USA official said in an email from the State Department that the US had also agreed to drop efforts to seek the extradition of 14 Iranians on unspecified charges. Iranian officials deny knowing where he is. “We should not forget Mr. Levinson and his situation”, Rubio said.

“This evening we are really reminded once again of diplomacy’s power to tackle significant challenges”, he said in Vienna.

On Saturday morning, news broke that four Iranian Americans, including the Washington Post’s Jason Rezaian, were released from Iran in a swap that saw the release of seven Iranian prisoners as well.

In return, the U.S.is pardoning or commuting the sentences of an Iranian and six dual citizens.

Specifically, they were accused of shipping electronic components to Iran in violation of the trade sanctions, Faridi’s attorney, Kent Schaffer, told CNN affiliate KPRC in Houston. The Swiss government, which has been helping to coordinate the release in the absence of a US embassy in Tehran, is still working to get them to the Tehran airport, said two USA officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the not-yet-completed transfer.