Reporter freed from Iran prison ‘can’t wait to get home’

“The Iranian officials, who were our captors essentially, were amazed and had asked us, ‘Why is it that they’re working so hard for you?’, and I just said, ‘Well, that’s America and they love their citizens'”.

Rezaian is now in Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, a USA military hospital in Germany.

Hekmati was arrested in August 2011 while he was on a visit to his grandmother in Iran.

“Hearing about some of my fellow Marines supporting me really gave me the strength to put up with over four years of some very hard times that I and my family went through”, he said.

“I want people to know that physically, I’m feeling good”, Rezaian said during meetings Monday with the Post’s executive editor, Martin Baron, and foreign editor, Douglas Jehl.

“It will not be easy – this transition will be tough”, said Kildee, who has worked to secure Hekmati’s freedom.

“I’m told that when people come here, they spend from five to 10 days”, Pittenger said.

One of the Iranian-Americans freed in a historic prisoner swap with Washington over the weekend described his final hours in captivity as “nerve-wracking”, in images broadcast Tuesday by USA television channel MSNBC.

She says that after so much time in Iranian custody and away from home she is not sure what his condition will be like, and that it will take time for their family to adjust to each other again. USA officials have said they are not sure if he is still alive.

Hekmati, Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian and pastor Saeed Abedini arrived late Sunday at Landstuhl for treatment.

He was reportedly held in solitary confinement and subjected to psychological torture.

“I was anxious that maybe the Iranian side was going to make new demands at the last minute or that the deal wasn’t going to work out, so up until the last second we were all anxious and concerned”, he said.

Amir Hekmati (3rd from L) poses with (L to R) family members Ramy Kurdi, Sarah Hekmati, U.S. Congres …

Hekmati suffered from health problems, including weight loss and breathing difficulties, according to his family.

Not much is known about the fourth American, Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari, whose reasons for being in Iran are still unclear.

“It’s Jason’s story and I think the world wants to hear directly from him”, Huffman said.

Their release now shows that engagement with Iran can produce clear breakthroughs in diplomatic relations, as was also demonstrated last week with the quick release of 10 USA sailors who were arrested after their two boats strayed into Iranian territorial waters. Even then, they didn’t breathe easily until they were out of Iranian airspace.

As part of the deal that freed Rezaian, President Obama also agreed to pardon or commute the sentences of seven Iranians held by the United States.