Update: Jan. 16, 2016 12:10 p.m.
Iran will release Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post reporter who has been held in an Iranian jail since 2014, in a prisoner swap along with three others, who also hold Iranian and American citizenships, according to multiple outlets on Saturday.
In exchange, the U.S. has agreed to release seven people accused of violating the sanctions against Iran, according to the Associated Press. Six of the seven are also dual citizens.
The three others freed prisoners, according to the Associated Press, are former Marine Amir Hekmati, pastor Saeed Abedini and Siamak Namazi.
The four Americans will be flown on a Swiss plane to Switzerland before being taken to a U.S. military installation in Landstuhl, Germany, according to the AP.
Rezaian was arrested in July 2014 along with his wife, reporter Yeganeh Salehi. He was eventually charged with espionage in December 2014 and convicted in a closed trial in 2015.
The Associated Press reported a fifth prisoner will also be released, but not in connection with the swap.
BREAKING: US official: Iran also releasing 5th detained American, unrelated to prisoner swap.
— The Associated Press (@AP) January 16, 2016
Kris Coratti, spokeswoman for the Washington Post, confirmed to the paper that the company also has not received confirmation of his release.
“While we are hopeful, we have not received any official word of Jason’s release,” she said.
Message to Americans: going forward, stay out of Iran, or go at your own risk. You now know that its vile government or even viler factions within might use you to extort concessions or who knows what from the United States by incarcerating you for no reason whatsoever. No President should be in the position of having to think about compromising United States’ interests in order to get you out of a place you could and should have avoided in the first place.
Recently we’ve seen the power of right wing long-term dead-enders trying to scuttle the rapprochement between two great peoples and force their country back into a medieval society, especially for women.
But enough about the US. Let’s get back to Iran…
And this is why it’s worthwhile to have diplomatic relations with other countries…
Wonder how the WarMongering RWers are going to characterize this development?
Americans are probably safer in Iran now than at any point in the last 35 years.