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Iran has released Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian and three other Iranian-American prisoners in an apparent prisoner swap with the US. Rezaian, 39, was jailed on charges, including espionage, last November .
Jason Rezaian
The US said it was offering clemency to seven Iranians being held in the United States for sanctions violation.
Diplomatic talks are under way in Vienna as Iran anticipates the lifting of international sanctions as part of the nuclear deal agreed last year.
News of the releases came after Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said the sanctions would be lifted on Saturday.
He is in Vienna for talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry over Iran's nuclear deal.
The US citizens released on Saturday are being flown to Switzerland and will be taken to a US base in Germany for medical treatment.
The other three Americans were named as Saeed Abedini, Amir Hekmati and Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari.
Iranian citizens released by the US
Of the seven Iranian citizens being released, six are also citizens of the US. The Iranian state news agency listed them as: Nader Modanlo, Bahram Mechanic, Khosrow Afghani, Arash Ghahreman, Tooraj Faridi, Nima Golestaneh and Ali Saboun.
They are all accused or convicted of violating US sanctions on Iran.
A US official said a diplomatic channel was established "with the focus of getting our detained US citizens home".
"Iran has also committed to continue co-operating with the United States to determine the whereabouts of Robert Levinson," the official said.
According to the Associated Press news agency, Mr Levinson is a former FBI agent who disappeared in Iran in 2007 while working for the CIA on an unapproved intelligence mission.
A further 14 Iranians sought by the US would be removed from an Interpol wanted list, the US and Iran said.
A fifth American, writer and student Matthew Trevithick, was also released from jail in Iran on Saturday, but his release was not part of the prisoner exchange.
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Jason Rezaian
The US said it was offering clemency to seven Iranians being held in the United States for sanctions violation.
Diplomatic talks are under way in Vienna as Iran anticipates the lifting of international sanctions as part of the nuclear deal agreed last year.
News of the releases came after Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said the sanctions would be lifted on Saturday.
He is in Vienna for talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry over Iran's nuclear deal.
The US citizens released on Saturday are being flown to Switzerland and will be taken to a US base in Germany for medical treatment.
The other three Americans were named as Saeed Abedini, Amir Hekmati and Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari.
Iranian citizens released by the US
Of the seven Iranian citizens being released, six are also citizens of the US. The Iranian state news agency listed them as: Nader Modanlo, Bahram Mechanic, Khosrow Afghani, Arash Ghahreman, Tooraj Faridi, Nima Golestaneh and Ali Saboun.
They are all accused or convicted of violating US sanctions on Iran.
A US official said a diplomatic channel was established "with the focus of getting our detained US citizens home".
"Iran has also committed to continue co-operating with the United States to determine the whereabouts of Robert Levinson," the official said.
According to the Associated Press news agency, Mr Levinson is a former FBI agent who disappeared in Iran in 2007 while working for the CIA on an unapproved intelligence mission.
A further 14 Iranians sought by the US would be removed from an Interpol wanted list, the US and Iran said.
A fifth American, writer and student Matthew Trevithick, was also released from jail in Iran on Saturday, but his release was not part of the prisoner exchange.
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