Iran releases US Navy veteran held for two years
Iran released a US Navy veteran held for almost two years after mediation by the Swiss government, American officials said on Thursday.
US President Donald Trump tweeted that Michael White had left Iran on a Swiss government aircraft and would soon be reunited with his family at home.
Brian Hook, the US special envoy for Iran, flew to Zurich with a doctor to meet Mr White and accompany him back to America.
“For 683 days my son, Michael, has been held hostage in Iran by the IRGC and I have been living a nightmare,” his mother, Joanne White, said. “I am blessed to announce that the nightmare is over.”
Mr White’s release came after Iranian scientist Cyrus Asgari returned to Iran on Wednesday after being released by the US where he had spent nearly three years in detention after being charged with espionage.
Mr Asgari, 59, who was cleared by US judicial authorities, fell into the arms of his relatives on his arrival at Tehran’s international airport. He was wearing a face mask but appeared to be in good health despite having caught the coronavirus while in US custody, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
“As soon as I arrived in the United States on June 21, 2017, I was arrested by the FBI,” he told state television as he left the airport.
“The reason given for my arrest was a charge of stealing commercial documents. The legal proceedings concerning my case took two and a half years. Finally, a federal judge acquitted me.”
A US court in November cleared Mr Asgari of charges of stealing trade secrets in 2016 while he was on an academic visit to Ohio.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi on Tuesday denied suggestions that Mr Asgari’s release was part of a prisoner-exchange deal.