Iranian press is reporting that Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian has been released in a "prisoner swap" deal with the United States.
Via Fars News:
TEHRAN (FNA)- 4 US inmates in Iran, including Jason Rezaian, have been freed under a prisoners swap deal, Tehran's prosecutor announced Saturday afternoon. "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 office of Tehran prosecutor said. Jason Rezaian, Amir Hekmat and Saeed Abedini were American-Iranian nationals who were jailed in Iran on various charges in recent years. According o the swap deal, the US has also freed 6 Iranian-Americans who were held for sanctions-related charges.. A senior Iranian legislator citing an IRGC report on Rezaian's case said in October that he has been imprisoned for his attempts to help the US Senate to advance its regime change plots in Iran."Based on a report by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) intelligence organization, Jason Rezaian is an Iranian national with US origin and is such an important agent for the Americans that they have made strenuous efforts to free him," Rapporteur of the parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Nozar Shafiyee told FNA. "Jason Rezaian has had the duty to exercise the thoughts of those people in the US Senate who believe that if the US can revive its pre-Revolution relations with Iran, the Iranian government can be overthrown easily," he added, citing the report. In late July 2014, Iran confirmed that four journalists, including Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian, had been arrested and were being held for questioning. Rezaian's wife Yeganeh Salehi, a correspondent for the United Arab Emirates-based newspaper, the National, was also arrested at that time, but she and two others were released later. According to the Constitution, the Judiciary is independent from the government in Iran. Some reports earlier this year had spoken of a potential prisoner swap between Iran and US following the Vienna nuclear deal in July.