Detained US Navy Vet Freed by Iran     06/05 06:21

   

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- A U.S. Navy veteran whose family said his only crime was 
falling in love left Iran on Thursday after nearly two years of detention, 
winning his freedom as part of a deal that spared an American-Iranian physician 
from any additional time behind bars.

   Michael White flew from Tehran to Zurich, where he was met by diplomat Brian 
Hook, the U.S. special envoy for Iran who has led the negotiations for the 
release of White and other American detainees in Iran. White and Hook then 
departed Zurich on a U.S. government plane.

   In Atlanta, meanwhile, a federal judge approved a sentencing agreement for 
Florida dermatologist Matteo Taerri, who had been charged by the Justice 
Department with violating U.S. sanctions on Iran as well as banking laws.

   The developments capped months of quiet talks, assisted by Switzerland, 
between two countries, that are at bitter odds over U.S. penalties imposed 
after President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 nuclear deal and 
over the killing by American forces of a top Iranian general in Iraq at the 
beginning of this year.

   White, of Imperial Beach, California, was detained by Iranian authorities in 
July 2018 while visiting a woman he had met online and fallen in love with. He 
was convicted of insulting Iran's supreme leader and posting private 
information online, and was sentenced to a decade in prison.

   "I am blessed to announce that the nightmare is over, and my son is safely 
in American custody and on his way home," White's mother, Joanne White, said in 
a statement.

   As White flew to Switzerland, U.S. prosecutors completed the American part 
of the arrangement that Hook negotiated by asking a judge to sentence Taerri to 
time served on his conviction stemming from the 2018 charges. U.S. officials 
said Taerri did not pose a national security threat. "We were simultaneously 
able to secure the release of an American Navy veteran from an Iranian prison 
and accomplish our law enforcement objectives," Hook said.

   "There are numerous foreign policy interests that are furthered by this 
particular sentence," U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May said in granting the 
government's request.

   Taerri was charged with attempting to export a filter to Iran that he said 
was for vaccine research but that U.S. authorities said required a license 
because it could be used for chemical and biological warfare purposes. He was 
also accused of structuring a series of bank deposits below $10,000 to evade 
reporting requirements under federal law.

   He pleaded guilty late last year and has already served months behind bars. 
But in April, he was permitted to be free on bond after the Justice Department 
withdrew its request to have him detained, citing what it said were significant 
foreign policy interests.

   "The United States government and the government of Iran have been 
negotiating the release of a U.S. citizen held in Iranian custody," Assistant 
U.S. Attorney Tracia King said at Thursday's hearing. "This case, and more 
specifically the sentence recommendation, is directly related to these 
negotiations."

   A citizen of Iran and the United States, Taerri is permitted as part of his 
sentence to remain in America and to travel abroad.

   White's release was cheered by Trump, whose administration has said it 
considers the release of detainees and hostages a priority. "I will never stop 
working to secure the release of all Americans held hostage overseas!" he 
tweeted. He tweeted later in the day that he had spoken by phone with White.

   In an interview with Fox News after his release, White praised Trump "for 
his efforts both diplomatically and otherwise" and said "he is making America 
great again."

   A spokesman for the White family, Jon Franks, said in a statement that the 
charges against White "were pretexts for a state-sponsored kidnap-for-ransom 
scheme." He added: "The tragedy of this case is Michael's only crime was 
falling in love with Iran and its people for whom he cares deeply."

   Despite widespread speculation, White's release was not related to the 
recent deportation to Iran of Iranian scientist Sirous Asgari, the officials 
said.

   Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, tweeted that such deals can 
"happen for all prisoners. No need for cherry picking. Iranian hostages held in 
-- and on behalf of -- the US should come home." Trump also said the 
arrangement "shows a deal is possible."

   White was released from prison on a medical furlough in March as Iran 
struggled to cope with the coronavirus outbreak, and turned over to the Swiss 
Embassy in Tehran, which represents U.S. interests in Iran. White's mother had 
earlier told The Associated Press that she was especially concerned about her 
son's health because of his battles with cancer.

   Trump administration officials in recent months stepped up public pressure 
to release White. Last month, for instance, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo 
mentioned White by name and thanked Switzerland for its work on arranging the 
furlough.

   The U.S. has also urged Iran to release other Americans jailed in Iran.

   Siamak Namazi, an Iranian-American, remains in Iran's Evin prison after 
being convicted of collaborating with the United States -- charges a U.N. panel 
has said are bogus. Morad Tahbaz, an Iranian with U.S. and British citizenship, 
was part of a group of environmental activists sentenced on espionage charges 
and remains in custody.

   Namazi's brother, Babak, said he was happy for the White family but 
distressed that his brother was not released. He also noted that his 
84-year-old father, Baquer, who was also convicted, is out of prison but has 
not been permitted to leave Iran despite his poor health.

   In December, Iran released Xiyue Wang, a Chinese-American Princeton 
University scholar held for three years on widely disputed espionage charges, 
in exchange for the release of a detained Iranian scientist after Hook led 
negotiations for the U.S.

   In March, the family of former FBI agent Robert Levinson, who vanished in 
Iran 13 years ago, said they had been informed that U.S. officials had 
determined that Levinson was probably dead.