Iran has announced that they are releasing four Iranian/American prisoners on Saturday in exchange for 7 Iranian prisoners in American prisons and an agreement to stop extradition proceedings against another fourteen Iranians. Iran says they are releasing Washington Post writer Jason Rezaian along with three other prisoners, including the Amir Hekmat, Saeed Abedini and Siamak Namazi. They are to be released as soon as the 7 Iranians touchdown in their home country.
Rezaian has been held for 18 months on charges of espionage against the Iranian government. Abedini had been arrested for meeting with Christians, which strangely enough is not illegal in Iran.
The Obama administration has refused to confirm the swap but relatives of the prisoners claim they have received word from the Iranian government that their loved ones will be released on Saturday.
“Based on an approval of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) and the general interests of the Islamic Republic, four Iranian prisoners with dual-nationality were freed today within the framework of a prisoner swap deal.”
The announcement coincides with Secretary of State John Kerry’s arrival in Vienna to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to finalize the lifting of Western and U.S. sanctions under the terms of a nuclear weapons deal. The official declaration that Iran has met its obligations under the agreement, expected within hours, would also free the first of some $100 million in frozen Iranian assets.
The final step in the process triggering “implementation day” would be a statement by the International Atomic Energy Agency, a United Nations’ nuclear watchdog group, that Iran had completed all its requirements under the historic agreement.
I happened to find a secret recording of John Kerry negotiating with the Iranians: