Americans in prisoner swap take off from Iran

Secretary of State John Kerry said US officials hashed out the prisoner exchange over 11 or 12 meetings with the Iranians.

(CNN) – Iran freed four USA prisoners on Friday, including Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian, senior US administration officials said, confirming reports first published in Iranian media.

White House Officials told the Wall Street Journal they determined the penalties could go into place once the four US prisoners involved in the exchange were released.

“Friends and colleagues at The Washington Post are elated by the wonderful news that Jason Rezaian has been released from Evin Prison and has safely left the country with his wife, Yeganeh Salehi”.

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) announced today that American Pastor Saeed Abedini and other Americans held captive in Iran have been released. And that ends United Nations sanctions, except there are some limits to Iran’s ballistic missile program.

“Iran has behaved unconscionably throughout this case, but never more so than with this indefensible decision by a Revolutionary Court to convict an innocent journalist of serious crimes after a proceeding that unfolded in secret, with no evidence whatsoever of any wrongdoing”, he said in a statement.

Amir Hekmati: aged 32, former Marine who spent more than four years in prison on spying charges following his arrest in August 2011 during a visit to see his grandmother. Rezaian’s family and The Washington Post have maintained his innocence and repeatedly called for his release. Following the certification from the IAEA, President Barack Obama signed executive orders lifting economic sanctions on Iran as part of the global agreement.

“We are happy for the other families”, Levinson’s family said in a statement. Doug Jehl, the Post’s foreign editor, said last fall that it seemed like “Jason is not really a prisoner, he’s a bargaining chip being used by the Iranian government to extract some concessions from the U.S”.

“When Americans are freed, that’s something we can all celebrate”, said Obama.

Iran says it has no interest in such arms.

Kerry said the nuclear agreement provided the key impetus.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, officials said Khosravi-Roodsari – about whom little is known – elected not to board the plane for Switzerland.

Last week, an Iranian judiciary spokesman said the US had contacted Iran for a deal to swap Rezaian for unspecified Iranian detainees, but USA officials declined to comment, saying any talk could jeopardize efforts to bring the Americans home.

In return, the U.S. agreed to pardon or drop charges against seven Iranians — six of whom are dual U.S.-Iranian citizens — accused or convicted of violating U.S. sanctions.

The exchange eases a leading irritant as the two countries gingerly explore prospects for a smoother relationship after decades of hostility – even as they remain sharply at odds on other fronts. While Obama emphasized that the USA continues to have deep concerns about Iran’s destabilizing actions in the Middle East and its threats to Israel, he also opened up the prospect of Tehran working more cooperatively with the rest of the world. Earlier, a plane carrying the three American citizens landed in Geneva after leaving Iran.

Later, media reports said that 7 Iranian nationals imprisoned in United States jails would also be released as per the prisoner swap.

Obama said talks between Washington and Tehran to secure the release of the Americans held in Iran “accelerated” after the nuclear deal.

He was later sentenced to death.

The U.S. has said it will not give up on the case of a separate American being held in Iran, Siamik Namazi. Levinson, a former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent and Central Intelligence Agency contractor, went missing in Iran in 2007.

The seven Iranians freed by the United States are Nader Modanlou, Baharam Mechanic, Khosrow Afghahi, Arash Ghahreman, Tooraj Faridi, Nima Golestaneh, and Ali Saboonchi, according to IRNA and the state broadcaster.