UPDATED: 4:09 pm E.T. Sunday
Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post reporter held in an Iran jail on unclear espionage charges for a year and a half, arrived in Switzerland Sunday night on route to Germany along with at least two others freed in a high-profile prisoner swap deal many months in the making.
Brett McGurk, a special presidential envoy for the coalition to counter ISIL, was among those on hand to greet the Americans after their flight out of Iran and shared the first (grainy) picture of them.
Overwhelmed to greet Jason #Rezaian, his wife, Yegi, mother, Mary + Saeed #Abedini + Amir #Hekmati to #Geneva after safely departing #Iran.— Brett McGurk (@brett_mcgurk) January 17, 2016
Thrilled to see #JasonRezaian land safely in #Geneva tonight after 18 months of unjust imprisonment in #Iran. pic.twitter.com/j0qY6rc5yo— Brett McGurk (@brett_mcgurk) January 17, 2016
"We are relieved that this 545-day nightmare for Jason and his family is finally over," Frederick Ryan, Jr., publisher of The Washington Post, said in a statement confirming Rezaian's release on Sunday. "We look forward to the joyous occasion of welcoming him back to the Washington Post newsroom.”
"Jason Rezaian is coming home—a courageous journalist...who wrote about the daily lives and dreams of the Iranian people" —@POTUS— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 17, 2016
Rezaian, now a free man, departed Iran on a flight accompanied by his wife and mother, according to Washington Post editor Marty Baron.
Plane carrying Jason Rezaian, wife, mom, others has left Iran. #JasonIsFree— Marty Baron (@PostBaron) January 17, 2016
Also on the Swiss flight out of Tehran were at least two of three other prisoners freed in the deal: Saeed Abedini, a pastor, and Amir Hekmati, a Marine vet. The fourth prisoner, Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari, about whom very little is known, is said not to be on the plane, according to multiple reports.
"We can confirm that our detained U.S. citizens have been released and that those who wished to depart Iran have left," a White House official told CNN.