Hossein Naghavi Hosseini, the spokesperson of Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, told reporters on Thursday that the court process which had led to Rezaian’s conviction were legitimate and he had accurately been convicted for spying; “his freedom marks the Islamic mercy on himself lavished by the Islamic Republic of Iran and a great achievement for us,” he added. “Rezaian’s claim that during 18 months in prison, he has been subject to spiritual and mental torture is an outright lie and the Islamic Republic was by no means exchanging a hostage during nuclear negotiations in order to hit a viable accord with the US; this is an injudicious decision and definitely, the legal deputy of the president and the Foreign Ministry will wage efforts to vindicate the rights of the nation should a court hear Rezaian’s case,” Naghavi Hosseini emphasized.
“I wonder whether the US officials seek another pretext to seize another part of Iran’s frozen assets in their banks, with Rezaian’s case providing them with an excellent case to continue stealing nation’s resources. Perhaps, the government in Washington has encouraged the act,” Mr. Naghavi Hosseini told the press.
Jason Rezaian, a dual Iranian-American citizen, and a Washigton Post correspondent in Tehran, was one of 3 Americans which were released by Iran according to a swap agreement with the US along historic JCPOA deal in January. He had been detained by intelligence authorities on charges of spying along with his wife Yeganeh Salehi and was tried and received an undisclosed prison term.
A Post coverage of the issue wrote in part of the report; “U.S. and European officials lifted the harshest economic sanctions against Tehran after the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog certified that the Islamic republic had fully complied with promises to curtail key parts of its nuclear program. Hours before diplomats in the Austrian capital hailed the official activation of the nuclear deal, Iran confirmed the release of Rezaian and the other American detainees, set free in exchange for U.S. clemency offered to seven Iranians charged or imprisoned for sanctions violations and the dismissal of outstanding charges against 14 Iranians outside the United States.”
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