Iran yields, releases U.S. resident

Lebanese IT pro invited to country, then called a spy

BEIRUT — A Lebanese man with permanent U.S. residency who had been imprisoned in Iran for years on charges of espionage said Tuesday that he was subjected to “kidnapping, arbitrary detention and a show trial,” adding that his release served to de-escalate tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

In his first comments after arriving in his native Lebanon, Nizar Zakka denied reports that his release was part of a wider deal but suggested that it had helped avert further escalation in the region.

Zakka’s release comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and the U.S. after President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers. It comes against the backdrop of high-stakes diplomatic activity aimed at easing tensions between the two foes.

Zakka is one of several prisoners with either dual nationality or links to the West held in Iran. Lebanese officials have for years asked for his release, and it was not clear why Iran decided to act now.

The U.S. State Department released a statement welcoming Zakka’s release from his “unlawful imprisonment.”

“We hope that Mr. Zakka’s release is a positive sign for American detainees in Iran,” it added, referring to several U.S. citizens who remain in detention in Iran.

Zakka, an information technology expert, was arrested in Iran in September 2015 while trying to fly out of Tehran. He had just attended a conference there at the invitation of one of the country’s vice presidents.

The following year, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison after authorities accused him of being an American spy, allegations vigorously rejected by his family and associates.

An adviser to President Hassan Rouhani, who as a vice president invited Zakka to Iran, said in September that Iran’s government had “failed” to help Zakka, who was arrested by the country’s elite Revolutionary Guard, which answers directly to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.