Iran’s release of four American prisoners Saturday prompted responses from U.S. politicians and federal agencies, though former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was one of the last to issue a statement.
All five of the released prisoners are Iranian-American dual citizens. The first four, Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, former U.S. Marine Amir Hekmati, Christian pastor Saeed Abedini and Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari, were released as part of a prisoner exchange decided on during a Saturday meeting in Vienna between Secretary of State John Kerry and Iran’s Foreign Minister.
Relieved that American prisoners are coming home from Iran. We must keep working for the return of Robert Levinson. -H
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) January 16, 2016
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, ranked first in the Washington Examiner’s presidential power rankings, tweeted there were probably parts of the deal he would dislike, but celebrated the release of the Americans.
Praise God! Surely bad parts of Obama’s latest deal, but prayers of thanksgiving that Pastor Saeed is coming home. https://t.co/rad1VcWUml
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) January 16, 2016
Third-ranked Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said the news came as an answered prayer for many, but attacked the Obama administration for allowing the prisoners to be detained in the first place.
Thankful that prayers have been answered and Pastor Saeed, Amir Hekmati, Jason Rezaian and another American will finally come home.
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) January 16, 2016
Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., called the mutual release proof that “diplomacy can work in this volatile region of the world,” according to a statement from his campaign.
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley used the news to go after Republicans. “Memo to Republican candidates: diplomacy beats carpet bombing,” O’Malley tweeted.
Unhappy with the constraints of the trade, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie faulted President Obama for how his administration was able to get the Americans back.
“The concern I have, and we don’t know yet, is that the president made a trade. Now, when this president makes trades this is a big problem. This is not a guy I would let negotiate buying a car for me let alone anything else. I mean he makes bad deals and he seems to become an expert at making bad deal with the Iranians. The fact is that we shouldn’t have to trade anything to get our citizens back home,” Christie said.
Great news on the release of Jason Rezaian and others. Memo to Republican candidates: diplomacy beats carpet bombing.
— Martin O’Malley (@MartinOMalley) January 16, 2016
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., an original co-sponsor of a 2013 Senate resolution that called for the release of Pastor Saeed Abedini, praised the U.S. government for releasing the reverend.
“Pastor Abedini is an incredibly brave man for risking his life for his Christian beliefs and I am pleased that our government did not sit idly by while an American citizen was persecuted abroad due to religious intolerance,” Paul said in a statement.
