American Freed in Iran Prisoner Swap Feels ‘Born Again’

As the New York Times reported, the men’s exit from Iran on a Swiss government private jet was delayed for several hours as officials detained the wife and mother of reporter Rezaian without explanation.

Since leaving Iran, Rezaian has been in Landstuhl, Germany, receiving medical treatment at a US military hospital.

“I’m staying with my family at a very comfortable guesthouse on the base, which has been a great place to begin my recovery”, he said.

Amir said today he was “very humbled at everybody’s support, from the president, to Congress, to my fellow Marines and especially my family, who have really gone through so much throughout this time”.

In addition, Iran released a fifth American, 30-year-old student Matthew Trevithick, in a what USA officials described as a separate “humanitarian gesture” that coincided with the lifting of global sanctions on Iran as part of a nuclear pact with world powers.

“As soon as we got out of Iranian air space the champagne bottles were popped”, he said, adding that the Swiss served them veal and chocolates.

“Why did Iran prisoner swap not include my father?” said Sarah Moriarty. After a retrial, he was given 10 years on a lesser charge.

Amir Hekmati, center, speaking Tuesday in Germany with Congressman Dan Kildee, left, and Hekmati’s brother-in-law Ramy Kurdi.

“So up until the last second we were all anxious and concerned”, he said.

The Washington Post’s Jason Rezaian is shown in this Washington Post photo taken in Washington, DC on November 6, 2013.

“They just came one morning and said ‘pack your things, ‘” Hekmati recalled.

The former Marine, a dual American-Iranian citizen, was arrested in late 2011 while on a trip to see his grandmothers.

Khosravi-Roodsari, the fourth American, opted to remain in Iran after his release.

Rezaian, who had been held by Iran since 2014 until his release alongside three other Americans on Saturday, is being treated in Landstuhl before being allowed to return to America. “I was anxious that maybe the Iranian side was going to make new demands in the last minute or that the deal wasn’t going to work out”, he said. His family and the USA government steadfastly denied the charges, for which he was initially sentenced to life imprisonment, though that term was later reduced.

“Expressions by some US politicians in recent days are a matter of pessimism”, Khamenei said without elaborating.