Three of four released US-Iranians head for Switzerland

Three Iranian-American citizens freed by Iran in a prisoner swap with the United States have left Tehran and are flying to Bern in Switzerland, Iranian state television reported on Sunday.

The fourth freed prisoner did not board the plane in Tehran – the reason behind his absence was unclear, although a senior US official told Reuters that “those who wished to depart Iran have left”.

The man who remained in Iran is Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari, whose imprisonment has not previously been reported on and about whom little is known.

Those who were on board what Iranian media called the "special Swiss plane" were Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post's Tehran correspondent; Saeed Abedini, a Christian pastor and former US Marine Amir Hekmati.

The Post reported that the flight out of Iran was delayed because Rezaian's mother Mary and wife Yeganeh, who also were on the airplane, initially did not appear on the flight manifest.

US Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters travelling with him from Vienna to Washington that Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif resolved the problem.

"Zarif had no question about it," Kerry was quoted as saying. "It was part of the agreement, it was clearly stated. The problem was, one of the guys on the ground, at a military base, didn’t have it on the manifest."

Iran announced the men’s release on Saturday, just hours before Tehran's historic nuclear deal with world powers was implemented, in exchange for Washington pardoning seven Iranians accused of sanctions-busting.

State television said the seven Iranians - Nader Modanlou, Baharam Mechanic, Khosrow Afghahi, Arash Ghahreman, Tooraj Faridi, Nima Golestaneh, and Ali Saboonchi - "will be freed today".

A fifth American was also released in a separate process, a US official has said.

The family of Hekmati, who faced a death sentence as an alleged spy, spoke of their cautious optimism at news of his release.

"It is hard to put into words what our family feels right now. But we remain in hopeful anticipation until Amir is in our arms."

Post 'relieved'

Washington Post publisher Frederick Ryan said in a statement: "We are relieved that this 545-day nightmare for Jason and his family is finally over."

39-year-old Rezaian, a dual US-Iranian citizen born in California, was detained in Iran on 22 July, 2014.

His detention was the longest experienced by a Western journalist since Iran’s 1979 revolution.

The statement by the Post said the paper was "enormously grateful to all who played a role" in securing Rezaian's release, thanking those "around the world who have spoken out on Jason's behalf and against the harsh confinement that was so wrongly imposed upon him".

Rezaian "will be reunited with his family, including his brother Ali, his most effective and tireless advocate," the Post said.

Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, Gholam Ali Khoshroo, said on Saturday that Switzerland played a "positive role" in the prisoner swap.

The UN nuclear watchdog announced late Saturday that Iran had complied with its side of the July 2015 accord, allowing the lifting of sanctions.