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Iran Says It Has Released Four Americans in a Prisoner Swap Iran Releases Four Americans in a Prisoner Swap
(about 3 hours later)
TEHRAN — Iran announced Saturday that it had released four Iranian-Americans as part of a prisoner exchange with the United States, a move that came as the United States and Iran were negotiating the final steps before the expected lifting of oil and financial sanctions related to Iran’s nuclear program. TEHRAN — Iran announced on Saturday that it had released four Iranian-Americans as part of a prisoner exchange with the United States, a move that came as the United States and Iran were negotiating the final steps before the expected lifting of oil and financial sanctions related to Iran’s nuclear program.
Obama administration officials confirmed the prisoner-swap arrangement, calling it the result of diplomacy that intensified after the nuclear deal had been reached last July. The exchange, first reported by Iran and confirmed hours later by Obama administration officials, removed a big source of irritation in the difficult relationship between the two countries, which broke down more than three decades ago during the 1979-1981 Tehran hostage crisis.
“Upon the conclusion of the nuclear deal we were able to accelerate our efforts,” one senior administration official said. Obama administration officials, sensitive to criticism that they have capitulated to Iran on many issues, attributed the break in the prisoner dispute to the new climate of diplomacy they have cultivated with Iran during the nuclear negotiations and after the deal was finalized.
The dismantlement, mandated by the nuclear accord reached last summer, was finished within the past day, as Iran rushed to get the sanctions relief before elections next month. But swapping the prisoners — including a Washington Post reporter held on vague charges — also removed a major irritant between the United States and Iran. “They understood this was a priority for us, and that we’d never give it up,” said a senior administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the prisoner exchange was handled with extraordinary caution. “We consistently said it was independent from the nuclear negotiations but of great importance to us.”
The initial announcement by the Iranian judiciary on state television did not identify the four released prisoners, but United States officials said they included Jason Rezaian, The Washington Post’s Tehran correspondent; Amir Hekmati, a Marine veteran; Saeed Abedini, a pastor; and Nosratollah Khosrawi, without providing any detail on his background.
The American officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the prisoner issue is sensitive, said they were still working to free a fifth prisoner, Siamak Namazi. It was not immediately clear who was released by the American side, but Iranian reports said seven Iranians had been freed.
The American officials also disclosed that Iran had agreed to release an American student, identified as Matthew Trevithick, whom they said had been studying in Iran and had been detained in recent months. They provided no further information about Mr. Trevithick, whose arrest had not been publicly reported before.
They reported no progress on longstanding efforts to find out more information about Robert Levinson, a retired F.B.I. agent who went missing near Iran’s Kish Island nearly nine years ago. “He is not going to appear as part of this deal,” said one official, but added that the Iranians had committed to “continue to seek information on his whereabouts.”
Most of the discussions on the prisoner exchange were conducted in Geneva, the officials said.
The prisoner swap was announced in Tehran as Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, met in Vienna in an effort to seal the last details needed before the nuclear accord is carried out.The prisoner swap was announced in Tehran as Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, met in Vienna in an effort to seal the last details needed before the nuclear accord is carried out.
They appeared just hours away from an announcement that Iran had complied with all the major elements of that deal — shipping 98 percent of its low-enriched uranium out of the country; disabling a reactor that can produce plutonium; and dismantling more than 12,000 of the country’s centrifuges, which enrich uranium. They appeared just hours away from an announcement that Iran had complied with all the major elements of that deal — shipping 98 percent of its low-enriched uranium out of the country; disabling a reactor that can produce plutonium; and dismantling more than 12,000 of the country’s centrifuges, which enrich uranium. However, a series of hitches — described as complex technical issues by United States officials — delayed the deal for hours beyond the expected announcement.
Officials in Vienna said that the prisoner swap and the nuclear deal were related, but only loosely. Mr. Kerry clearly wanted to be able to tell many critics of the deal in Congress that he had gotten more than just the nuclear concessions; he wanted to make the case that the new channels of communication between Tehran and Washington were proving fruitful in other areas.Officials in Vienna said that the prisoner swap and the nuclear deal were related, but only loosely. Mr. Kerry clearly wanted to be able to tell many critics of the deal in Congress that he had gotten more than just the nuclear concessions; he wanted to make the case that the new channels of communication between Tehran and Washington were proving fruitful in other areas.
He argued last week that his relationship with Mr. Zarif helped resolve the case of the 10 American sailors who were arrested after their two boats went into Iranian territorial waters. Now he can say that the prisoner swap, which has been the subject of secret negotiations for months, was another benefit.He argued last week that his relationship with Mr. Zarif helped resolve the case of the 10 American sailors who were arrested after their two boats went into Iranian territorial waters. Now he can say that the prisoner swap, which has been the subject of secret negotiations for months, was another benefit.
But that was unlikely to silence his critics. Iran’s other recent activities, including missile tests, have provided fodder for Republican candidates for president, who say that President Obama so wanted the nuclear deal he was willing to overlook other issues. Mr. Kerry denies that, and the fact that four Americans are going free will bolster his case.But that was unlikely to silence his critics. Iran’s other recent activities, including missile tests, have provided fodder for Republican candidates for president, who say that President Obama so wanted the nuclear deal he was willing to overlook other issues. Mr. Kerry denies that, and the fact that four Americans are going free will bolster his case.
The incarceration of the four Iranian-Americans had become an increasingly bitter side issue.The incarceration of the four Iranian-Americans had become an increasingly bitter side issue.
Mr. Rezaian, 39, a California native and dual citizen of the United States and Iran, was The Post’s bureau chief in Tehran in July 2014 when he was arrested. He was charged with spying on Iran’s nuclear program and gathering information about violations of international sanctions against Iran. Families and supporters of the released Americans — Amir Hekmati, Jason Rezaian, Saeed Abedini and a fourth, Nosratollah Khosravi, whose incarceration had not been publicly reported — reacted with mix of joy and caution, reflecting the tensions and mistrust built up over Iran’s intentions toward the prisoners, who had not yet left Iran by Saturday evening.
He was convicted in October after a closed trial closed to the public. Mr. Rezaian, a 39-year-old Californian who became the Washington Post’s bureau chief in Tehran in 2012, had been languishing in Tehran’s Evin Prison since July 2014 on vaguely defined charges of espionage that he denied and that his lawyer said had fallen apart at a closed trial in Tehran’s Revolutionary Court.
Executives from 25 news organizations recently sent a letter to Mr. Kerry urging him to press Iran to release Mr. Rezaian. Mr. Rezaian was convicted in September but there was never any word on his punishment. The Post and others described his prosecution as an absurdity and embarrassment for Iran.
American officials said the two deals were negotiated separately, but Mr. Kerry had made it clear in recent weeks that he was engaged in behind-the-scenes talks on the fate of the Americans, and clearly wanted the issue cleared up before the nuclear agreement went into effect. “We couldn’t be happier to hear the news that Jason Rezaian has been released from Evin Prison,” said Frederick J. Ryan Jr., The Post’s publisher. “Once we receive more details and confirm Jason has safely left Iran, we will have more to share.”
Mr. Hekmati, 32, an American of Iranian descent who served with the Marines in Iraq, was seized while visiting relatives in Tehran in August 2011. He was convicted of espionage and sentenced to death, but that verdict was overturned. He was then convicted of aiding a hostile country — meaning the United States — and was sentenced to a 10-year prison term. The family of Mr. Hekmati, a 32-year-old Marine veteran from Flint, Mich., who was the longest-serving of the American prisoners in Iran, was similarly measured in its initial reaction.
This month, Mr. Hekmati was escorted from Evin Prison in Tehran to a hospital for medical tests, including a CT scan, because of lymph node swelling in his face and neck. “There are still many unknowns,” the family said in a statement. “At this point, we are hoping and praying for Amir’s long-awaited return.”
In May, he ended his second hunger strike at his family’s request after 10 days of refusing food. Hints that Mr. Hekmati, a 35-year-old pastor from Boise, Idaho, might be released surfaced this month when Iranian officials permitted him to get treatment for swollen lymph nodes at a hospital outside prison. The family had been growing increasingly despondent because Mr. Hekmati’s father, Ali, a microbiology professor in Flint, has terminal brain cancer, and they feared he would die before Mr. Hekmati was freed.
Mr. Hekmati’s family issued a statement saying: “We thank everyone for your thoughts during this time. There are still many unknowns. At this point, we are hoping and praying for Amir’s long-awaited return.” Naghmeh Abedini, the wife of Mr. Abedini, said in a phone interview that she first suspected some news when she heard Mr. Abedini had been moved from prison by Iran’s intelligence police. Early Saturday, she began receiving emails from friends that the Iranian media was reporting the prisoner swap, and State Department officials confirmed it to her by telephone.
Saeed Abedini, 39, a naturalized American citizen and Christian pastor who lives in Idaho, was arrested in 2012 and convicted on charges that included subverting national security by creating a private network of churches in people’s homes. In 2013, he was sentenced to eight years in prison. “I told my kids that Daddy was coming home,” she said.
In Vienna, a senior State Department official said that the delay in certifying that Iran had complied with all its dismantlement steps, and then releasing roughly $100 billion in frozen Iranian funds, was largely because “a few technical issues remaining” had to be reviewed. The official said “there is no major issue being fought over.” American officials also disclosed for the first time that another American, whom they identified as Matthew Trevithick, had been detained by the Iranian authorities in recent months, and that he had been permitted to leave Iran. They described him as a student but shared no further information on Mr. Trevithick, whose arrest had not been publicly reported before.
They also said they were still working to free Siamak Namazi, an Iranian-American business consultant who worked for a United Arab Emirates-based oil company and was seized in Tehran in mid-October.
Nearly all of the negotiations took place in Geneva, the Americans said, and arrangements for the departure of those freed in Iran had been done by Switzerland, which attends to American interests in Iran in the absence of diplomatic relations.
The American officials described the released Iranians as convicts or suspects in sanctions violations — offenses that Iran’s government has never recognized as legitimate. They also said that as part of the negotiations, the Americans had rescinded international arrest warrants on 14 other Iranians suspected of sanctions violations.
The Iranians had originally presented a much longer list of Iranian prisoners they wanted freed, one senior official said, and “we whittled down the list to exclude anyone for crimes related to violence or terrorism.”
They reported no progress on longstanding efforts to find out more information about Robert A. Levinson, a retired F.B.I. agent who went missing near Iran’s Kish Island nearly nine years ago. “He is not going to appear as part of this deal,” said one official, who added that the Iranians had committed to “continue to seek information on his whereabouts.”
Most of the Republican presidential candidates have been critical of the overall Iran deal. On Saturday, several of them praised the release of the American prisoners but continued to attack the agreements with Iran as imprudent.
Senator Marco Rubio of Florida and Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey said President Obama should not be negotiating with Iran. “I mean he makes bad deals and he seems to become an expert at making bad deal with the Iranians,” Mr. Christie said in a statement. “The fact is that we shouldn’t have to trade anything to get our citizens back home.”
Donald J. Trump said in Portsmouth, N.H., that he was “happy they’re coming back” but that Iran had gotten the better of the deal.
Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, in an interview with The Guardian, was more hopeful, saying the release was “a sign that we need to continue to try to see if negotiations will work.”