Luke Skywalker
Super Moderator
{vb:raw ozzmodz_postquote}:
Get the news
Log In or Subscribe to skip
4 [h=6]Share This Story![/h]Let friends in your social network know what you are reading about
[h=4]Americans freed from Iran land in Germany[/h]Five Americans were released after a dramatic prisoner swap between Iran and the U.S.
{# #}
[h=4]Sent![/h]A link has been sent to your friend's email address.
[h=4]Posted![/h]A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.
[h=6]Join the Nation's Conversation[/h]To find out more about Facebook commenting please read the Conversation Guidelines and FAQs
[h=2]UP NEXT[/h][h=2]03[/h]
Rezaian was among several Americans released by Iran under a prisoner swap agreement.
Video provided by Newsy Newslook
A U.S. aircraft stands behind an aircraft of Swiss airline Etihad Regional at Geneva airport in Switzerland on Jan. 17, 2016.(Photo: European Pressphoto Agency)
Three<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Americans freed from Iran, including a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Washington Post reporter held for nearly 18 months,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>arrived Sunday in Germany on<span style="color: Red;">*</span>their journey back to the United States and awaiting families and friends.
The men were among five Americans<span style="color: Red;">*</span>released Saturday after a dramatic prisoner swap between the two countries, which came<span style="color: Red;">*</span>just as international sanctions were lifted on Iran as part of an international nuclear deal.
The three will be examined at the U.S.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, before continuing their journey home. It is not clear how long they will remain there.
USA TODAY
Obama: Iran deal makes the world safer
Three Americans boarded the plane for Germany —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Post reporter Jason Rezaian, former U.S. Marine Amir Hekmati of Flint, Mich.,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and pastor Saeed Abedini of Boise —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>but not Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari.
An administration official<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said Khosravi-Roodsari made a “free determination” on whether he wanted to stay in Iran or come to the United States. “So we don't make that judgment for him,” said the official, who asked not to be named in order to discuss sensitive diplomatic issues.
?Matthew Trevithick, the fifth American citizen released by Iran in what U.S. officials called a “goodwill gesture,” had<span style="color: Red;">*</span>already left the country.
Iran also agreed to allow<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Rezaian’s wife, Yeganeh Salehi, who is an Iranian citizen, to leave the country with him. She is a correspondent for<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The National, a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>newspaper based in the United Arab Emirates.
Rezaian's family<span style="color: Red;">*</span>issued a statement Sunday, saying "this nightmare is approaching an end."
"After nearly a year and a half of arbitrary delays, and an unfair, opaque judicial process, Jason’s release has brought indescribable relief and joy to our family," his brother, Ali<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Rezaian, said in the family<span style="color: Red;">*</span>statement.
The family thanked the Post and other organizations who worked for Rezaian's release, as well as the Obama administration and Secretary of State John Kerry.
"We are relieved that this 545-day nightmare for Jason and his family is finally over," Washington Post publisher<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Frederick J. Ryan<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Jr.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said in a statement.
Martin Baron, the Post's executive editor, said the first priority for Rezaian is a medical evaluation.
"You have no idea how difficult it is to continue to work and live your daily life knowing that one of your colleagues is sitting in the worst prison in Iran. It's a horrible feeling."<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Baron told CNN's Reliable Sources<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in a phone call from Landstuhl.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Now, "we feel a huge sense of relief."
The deal has come under criticism by some Republicans, who have accused the Obama administration of being too quick to cut deals with Iran.
"A<span style="color: Red;">*</span>disturbing pattern is emerging where the Obama administration is willing to negotiate the release of spies, terrorists and now criminals," Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Sunday<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in a statement.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"I fail to see how this trend will<span style="color: Red;">*</span>improve the long-term security of the United States and its citizens."
Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury Department unleashed new sanctions Sunday against 11 people and companies involved in Iran's ballistic missile program, just one day after President Obama lifted sanctions based on Iran's nuclear program.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control is blocking the assets of<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Mabrooka Trading, a company based in the United Arab Emirates, for its role in procuring components for Iran's ballistic missiles. Also sanctioned are other companies and individuals involved in the program, which tested two ballistic missiles last year.
As part of the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>deal to release the Americans, Obama agreed to pardon or commute the sentences of seven Iranians held by the United States.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>None has<span style="color: Red;">*</span>been charged or convicted of any terrorism-related or violent crimes,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>but they were instead charged or convicted of crimes related to the evasion of Iranian sanctions. Six of them hold dual Iranian and American citizenship, and the seventh is an Iranian.
Kerry said Sunday that U.S. officials hashed out the prisoner exchange over 11 or 12 meetings with the Iranians, the Associated Press<span style="color: Red;">*</span>reported. At times, the Americans thought a deal was set, only to get stuck on the details.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani praised the new engagement with the United States, saying his country<span style="color: Red;">*</span>"has opened a new chapter" in its ties with the world, the BBC reported.
Speaking before the parliament in comments broadcast on live television, Rouhani said the landmark nuclear deal has satisfied all parties except radical extremists.
"All are happy except Zionists, warmongers, sowers of discord among Islamic nations and extremists in the U.S. The rest are happy,” Rouhani said, according to the AP.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a staunch opponent of<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the nuclear deal, pledged Sunday to remain vigilant to make sure Iran does<span style="color: Red;">*</span>not violate<span style="color: Red;">*</span>its commitments.
“What is clear is that Iran will now have more resources to dedicate to their terrorism and aggression in the region and in the world, and Israel is prepared to deal with any threat,” he said, the AP reported.
Contributing: Gregory Korte
0) { %> 0) { %>
0) { %>
Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feed