Spokesman for the Supreme National Security Council Keivan Khosravi made the remarks in an interview with Alahed News hours after the releasing of American-Lebanese national Nizar Zakka from Iranian prison on bail on Tuesday.
The Lebanese president Michel Aoun had sent a request to his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani on the matter.
Khosravi told Alahed News that “the Islamic Republic of Iran made this decision to show good will in the context of mutual cooperation between Iran and Lebanon and to boost ties between the two nations.”
In response to a question about the possibility that a third country may have played a role in his release, the spokesman said “no third country has had a role in Zakka’s release. This measure was only based on the Lebanese President demand and Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah’s mediation.”
“Given President Michel Aoun’s important and influential role in supporting the Resistance Front, his demand was fulfilled,” Khosravi added. He further pointed to the influential role Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah played in making this decision on the Iranian side.
The Iranian official also noted that Iran’s behavior with Nizar Zakka in Tehran was totally in accordance with the legal standards and based on respecting the rights of detainees.
According to documents and evidence submitted by the Iranian security apparatuses to the court, Nizar Zakka had worked for the American intelligence services for which he had been sentenced to 10 years in prison. He had been detained by the Revolutionary Guards in 2015 on espionage charges.
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