Iran Frees U.S. Resident as Diplomacy Gathers Steam

(Bloomberg) -- Iran freed a U.S. resident imprisoned on espionage charges, a possible overture toward the Trump administration as international efforts to end a standoff between Washington and Tehran gather momentum.

Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese national, was released into the custody of the Lebanese security chief and was flown to Beirut.

Zakka, a technology expert, was arrested on a trip to Iran. He was sentenced in 2016 to 10 years in prison after Iranian authorities accused him of spying. His family rejected the charges and campaigned for his freedom.

Zakka’s release comes during a week of high-stakes diplomacy in Tehran, intended to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and reduce tensions following the Trump administration’s decision to abandon the accord and tighten sanctions last year.

Following a one-day trip by German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas to the Iranian capital, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to arrive on Wednesday for consultations with top officials. It’s unclear whether Zakka’s fate had been on the agenda.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the U.S. was “thankful” for Zakka’s release.

“There are several others and we want to see those people released as well,” she said, declining to comment on whether the administration was involved in talks that led to his freedom.

U.S. President Donald Trump has shown support for Abe’s efforts to play intermediary between Tehran and Washington. Kazuo Takahashi, professor of international politics at the Open University of Japan and an expert on Japan’s policy toward Iran, said the premier may have been given a mandate by Trump.

“Maybe Mr. Trump has promised some relaxation of the sanctions against Iran or the exchange of prisoners -- with Americans kept by Iran and Iranians kept by the States,” said Takahashi.

Several dual U.S. nationals are detained by Iranian authorities on accusation of spying. The U.S. holds some Iranians for allegedly violating American sanctions. During a trip to the U.S. in April, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif offered to negotiate a prisoner exchange.

Speaking after his return to Lebanon, Zakka denied he was an “agent”. Though he said his release was the result of a “purely” Lebanese push, Zakka acknowledged the broader regional ramifications.

“I don’t want to hide that this initiative resulted in positive regional results and it seems it stopped what could have happened in the region," Zakka told reporters. “One thing did change in me and that’s that my ferocity to defend human rights, freedom of expression and access to the Internet has increased.”

--With assistance from Josh Wingrove and Jon Herskovitz.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ladane Nasseri in Dubai at lnasseri@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at lnoueihed@bloomberg.net, Amy Teibel

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