Michael White flew on a Swiss military aircraft to Zurich.
Washington, United States:
President Donald Trump expressed hope for progress with his Iranian rival Thursday after the clerical regime released a veteran of the U.S. Navy and the U.S. released two Iranians.
Michael White, who had contracted the coronavirus in Iran, flew for a Swiss military plane bound for Zurich where he was greeted by a senior American official.
“I am fortunate to announce the end of the nightmare and that my son will return home safely,” said his mother, Joanne White, in a statement.
Trump said he spoke to White on the phone and expressed rare appreciation to Iran, with which the United States was close to total war several months ago.
“Thanks to Iran, it shows that an agreement is possible!” Trump wrote on Twitter.
As White returned home, a federal judge released an Iranian-American doctor, Majid Taheri, to visit his family in Iran.
A day earlier, a more prominent Iranian – Cyrus Asgari, a scientist arrested in 2016 during a university visit – returned to Iran.
“It can happen to all prisoners. No need to pick cherries,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote on Twitter.
“The Iranian hostages detained – and in the name of – the United States should go home,” he said.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who defended a warmongering line against the mullahs’ regime, said Iranian authorities had been “constructive” over the release of White, but requested the release of three other American citizens, all of Iranian origin, who remain detained.
White, who had served 13 years in the U.S. Navy, was arrested in July 2018 in the northeastern city of Mashhad after visiting a woman he met online.
He was sentenced the following year to at least 10 years in prison for insulting Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and posting anti-regime comments on social media under a pseudonym.
In March, when Iran was hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, White was handed over to Swiss guard, who manages US interests in the country in the absence of diplomatic ties.
Iranians allowed to leave
Asgari, a scientist at Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, was arrested four years ago during a university visit to Ohio and accused of stealing trade secrets.
He was acquitted last year but turned over to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Service, which, according to Asgari, refused to let him go and detained him in a dungeon in Louisiana without basic sanitation.
Denying any connection with White, a senior US immigration official, Ken Cuccinelli, said the Iranians had delayed his release, tweeting, “An exchange can’t work exactly when we want less Asgari than the Iranians.”
But the timing was even more clearly linked to Taheri, a doctor in Tampa, Florida, with a judge releasing him on Thursday at purged time.
He was charged with violating US sanctions by sending a technical article to Iran and, in December, pleaded guilty to having breached financial reporting obligations by depositing $ 277,344 in a bank, appearing in repeatedly with cash, according to court documents.
Taheri has been working for a Tampa clinic since it closed, the owner of which was charged earlier for prescribing pain relievers without medical use.
Rising tensions
Tensions have skyrocketed in recent months as Trump waged a “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, imposing sweeping sanctions and ordering a drone strike in January that killed a senior Iranian general.
Observers have viewed prisoner releases as a rare means of initiating dialogue between the two countries, although few expect serious progress before the US elections in November.
White’s mother thanked the US and Swiss governments for the release, as well as Bill Richardson, a former US ambassador and governor of the Democratic Party.
Richardson, whose efforts have been thwarted by the Trump administration, said he met with senior Iranian officials, including Zarif, to organize the release of White.
In a statement, Richardson said his approach was based on “personal relationships and respect”.
“The negotiations have been complicated, especially given the high tensions and the exchange of violence between the United States and Iran in recent months,” said Richardson, who added that Qatar – an American ally that maintains stable relations with Iran – also provided assistance.
Richardson said White, who is in his forties and had pre-existing medical conditions, was admitted to a hospital for coronavirus treatment but otherwise stayed in a hotel in Tehran.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
