President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry come through yet again as Iran and the US arrange a long overdue prisoner swap that includes Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian.
Iran has released four imprisoned U.S. citizens, including Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian, as part of a swap, the office of Tehran’s prosecutor announced Saturday, according to Iranian news media.
The other released prisoners include Amir Hekmat, a former U.S. Marine, and Saeed Abedni, a pastor, and a fourth unnamed American. All four are dual U.S.-Iranian citizens. Rezaian has been held since 2014.
According to Iran’s Fars News Agency, the four were ordered released in exchange for six Iranian-Americans held in the United States on sanctions-related charges.
A statement by the prosecutor said that “based on an approval of the Supreme National Security Council 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,” Fars reported.
There was no official confirmation from the United States. Kris Coratti, vice president of communications and spokeswoman for The Post, said that “while we are hopeful, we have not received any official word of Jason’s release.”
As the US-Iran nuclear deal heads towards the day of implementation as nuclear watchdogs are expected to sign off on the deal soon, the prisoner exchange is good ol' fashioned diplomacy.
It's hard to imagine any of the Republicans currently running for President Obama's job pulling this off without, you know, bombing something first.
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