WE can only pray to God this is true and these people will soon be free and reunited with their families and loved ones. From +NPR .....
Iranian media outlets are reporting the release of four
Iranian-American prisoners Saturday, as part of what Iran is calling a
prisoner swap.
The government's IRNA news outlet confirmed the release of four dual nationals, but did not name the prisoners.
The semi-official Fars news agency says the released prisoners include Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post reporter who was the newspaper's Tehran bureau chief. He was arrested in 2014 and charged with spying, an allegation his paper strongly dnies. His secretive trial attracted widespread attention and numerous calls for his release.
The Washington Post says they have not received official confirmation of Rezaian's release.
Amir Hekmati and Saeed Abedini were also among the prisoners released, Fars reports.
Hekmati is a former U.S. Marine whose family says he was visiting his grandmothers when he was arrested in 2011. Iran accused him of working for the CIA.
Saeed Abedini is a convert to Christianity who, according to his wife, was working to build an orphanage in Iran when he was detained in 2012. Iran charged him with disrupting national security.
The release is part of a prisoner swap, Iranian state media says: The four dual-national prisoners will be exchanged with seven Iranians currently imprisoned in the U.S, according to IRNA.
A prisoner exchange has not been confirmed by the U.S.
The news comes as Iran is widely believed to be on the verge of "Implementation Day" — the benchmark Iran will reach when it has met its obligations under the international nuclear deal, and many sanctions against the country are lifted.
Ali Rezaian, brother of Washington Post Tehran Bureau Chief
Jason Rezaian (shown in picture frame), talks about his brother's
imprisonment in Iran while testifying before the House Foreign Affairs
Committee on June 2, 2015. Iranian media outlets are reporting that
Rezaian has been released.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The government's IRNA news outlet confirmed the release of four dual nationals, but did not name the prisoners.
The semi-official Fars news agency says the released prisoners include Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post reporter who was the newspaper's Tehran bureau chief. He was arrested in 2014 and charged with spying, an allegation his paper strongly dnies. His secretive trial attracted widespread attention and numerous calls for his release.
The Washington Post says they have not received official confirmation of Rezaian's release.
Amir Hekmati and Saeed Abedini were also among the prisoners released, Fars reports.
Hekmati is a former U.S. Marine whose family says he was visiting his grandmothers when he was arrested in 2011. Iran accused him of working for the CIA.
Saeed Abedini is a convert to Christianity who, according to his wife, was working to build an orphanage in Iran when he was detained in 2012. Iran charged him with disrupting national security.
The release is part of a prisoner swap, Iranian state media says: The four dual-national prisoners will be exchanged with seven Iranians currently imprisoned in the U.S, according to IRNA.
A prisoner exchange has not been confirmed by the U.S.
The news comes as Iran is widely believed to be on the verge of "Implementation Day" — the benchmark Iran will reach when it has met its obligations under the international nuclear deal, and many sanctions against the country are lifted.
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