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U.S. hostage recounts ‘nerve-wracking’ hours to freedom from Iran jail

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One of the Iranian-Americans freed in a historic prisoner swap with Washington over the weekend described his final hours in captivity as "nerve-wracking", in images broadcast Tuesday by US television channel MSNBC.

"I was worried that maybe the Iranian side was going to make new demands in the last minute or that the deal wasn't going to work out so up until the last second, we were all worried and concerned," veteran Marine Amir Hekmati said on board a Swiss jet that carried the released prisoners out of Iran.

"We kept being told that we are going to be taking off in two hours and two became six, became 10, so a total of two and a half days was really nerve-wracking," the 32-year-old said.

The hostages' uncertainty ended when the Swiss ambassador arrived for them.

"We just felt an immense pressure come off our shoulders and when we finally got on the plane, that's when we knew", Hekmati said.

"As soon as we got out of Iranian air space, the champagne bottles were popped."

The prisoner swap came as the UN nuclear watchdog confirmed Iran had put a nuclear bomb beyond its immediate reach and the US and EU lifted their most draconian sanctions.

In exchange for four Iranian-American dual nationals, some of whom had been held for years, and a fifth American, Washington granted clemency to seven Iranians and withdrew arrest warrants for 14 others.

Asked about the way he had been treated in prison, Hekmati replied: "Well, it wasn't good."

"You know, I was at a point where I had just sort of accepted the fact that I was going to be spending 10 years in prison," he added.

Hekmati was arrested in August 2011 while he was on a visit to his grandmother in Iran.

He was sentenced to death in January 2012 for "spying" for Washington, despite the US' repeated denials. The sentence was later commuted to a 10-year jail term.

Hekmati arrived in Germany on Sunday along with two other prisoners, including Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian, who had been detained in July 2014.

The fourth freed Iranian-American apparently chose to remain in Iran.

One of the Iranian-Americans freed in a historic prisoner swap with Washington over the weekend described his final hours in captivity as “nerve-wracking”, in images broadcast Tuesday by US television channel MSNBC.

“I was worried that maybe the Iranian side was going to make new demands in the last minute or that the deal wasn’t going to work out so up until the last second, we were all worried and concerned,” veteran Marine Amir Hekmati said on board a Swiss jet that carried the released prisoners out of Iran.

“We kept being told that we are going to be taking off in two hours and two became six, became 10, so a total of two and a half days was really nerve-wracking,” the 32-year-old said.

The hostages’ uncertainty ended when the Swiss ambassador arrived for them.

“We just felt an immense pressure come off our shoulders and when we finally got on the plane, that’s when we knew”, Hekmati said.

“As soon as we got out of Iranian air space, the champagne bottles were popped.”

The prisoner swap came as the UN nuclear watchdog confirmed Iran had put a nuclear bomb beyond its immediate reach and the US and EU lifted their most draconian sanctions.

In exchange for four Iranian-American dual nationals, some of whom had been held for years, and a fifth American, Washington granted clemency to seven Iranians and withdrew arrest warrants for 14 others.

Asked about the way he had been treated in prison, Hekmati replied: “Well, it wasn’t good.”

“You know, I was at a point where I had just sort of accepted the fact that I was going to be spending 10 years in prison,” he added.

Hekmati was arrested in August 2011 while he was on a visit to his grandmother in Iran.

He was sentenced to death in January 2012 for “spying” for Washington, despite the US’ repeated denials. The sentence was later commuted to a 10-year jail term.

Hekmati arrived in Germany on Sunday along with two other prisoners, including Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian, who had been detained in July 2014.

The fourth freed Iranian-American apparently chose to remain in Iran.

AFP
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