Washington Post Reporter Jason Rezaian Freed by Iran After 18 Months in Prison

Jason Rezaian, an Iranian-American reporter for the Washington Post, was released on Saturday after being held in Iranian captivity for 18 months, along with three other prisoners, according to Farsi news reports.

Iranian state TV on Saturday announced the release of four "dual nationals," but did not reveal their names.

A US official confirmed to the Associated Press that Rezaian would be released, along with three other Americans. The AP reported that US has agreed to pardon or drop charges against seven Iranians in exchange for the release. Iran was also reportedly set to release a fifth detained American unrelated to prisoner swap. The freed American prisoners will be flown to Switzerland from Iran in a Swiss plane, the AP reported.

Rezaian, 39, was working as the Washington Post's bureau chief in Tehran at the time of his arrest on July 22, 2014. He was convicted of unspecified charges in October 2015. Iranian authorities did not provide any details surrounding the verdict, but Rezaian had been accused of espionage. The length of the prison term was not specified either. He was reportedly held in Tehran's notorious Evin prison.

"Serving a jail term is in Jason Rezaian's sentence," judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei told a news conference in Tehran last October. "But I cannot give details."

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The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned Rezaian's conviction and said in a statement that he was being held on "bogus espionage charges." The organization and the Washington Post repeatedly called for his release.

Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, is scheduled announce more details about the prisoners' release on Saturday afternoon in Vienna.

Rezaian has been the Post's correspondent in Tehran since 2012. Rezaian is married to Yeganeh Salehi, a journalist who was arrested alongside him but later released on bail. His last major story before his arrest was about an uptick of enthusiasm for baseball in Iran.

Farsi news outlets said Amir Hekmati, a former US Marine, is among the four Iranian-Americans released on Saturday. Hekmati, the longest-held American prisoner in Iran, was accused of spying for the CIA in 2012 and sentenced to death. The verdict was overturned months later, but he has remained in captivity ever since.

Secretary of State — Department of State (@StateDept)January 16, 2016

News outlets recently reported that Hekmati, 32, had been had been receiving medical care in a hospital outside the prison for a lymph node swelling in his face and neck. The hospital visits fueled speculation that he would soon be released.

Hekmati's Iranian lawyer, Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabaei, was quoted on December 30 as saying that prison officials were considering a conditional release of Hekmati for good behavior.

Saeed Abedni, a pastor, and an unnamed fourth detainee were reportedly also among those released.

Related: Iran Is Not Happy About Proposed US Sanctions Over Its Ballistic Missile Program

Saturday's release coincides with "implementation day," where international sanctions on Iran are expected to be lifted once the UN's nuclear agency declares Tehran compliant with an agreement to scale back its nuclear program.

The nuclear deal was a huge turning point in the historically hostile relationship between the US and Iran. The deal is expected to bring Iran, which spent the decades since the Cold War as a pariah state, back onto the global economic playing field.

"Today, with the release of the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] chief's report, the nuclear deal will be implemented" Zarif said in Vienna, according to the state news agency IRNA. "After which a joint statement will be made to announce the beginning of the deal."

"Today is a good day for the Iranian people as sanctions will be lifted," Zarif said.

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