Iran announced on Saturday that it was releasing U.S. evangelical pastor Saeed Abedini and four other American detainees, a major development and a cause for celebration among the millions of Christians worldwide who had long been praying for his release.
The pastor's wife, Naghmeh Abedini, said, "This has been an answer to prayer. "Thank the millions of people who have stood with us in prayer during this most difficult time," Fox News reported.
Abedini, 35, converted from Islam to Christianity and became pastor when he settled in Boise, Idaho, with his wife, Naghmeh Abedini, 38, who lives there together with their two children, Rebekka, 9, and Jacob, 7, the Washington Post said.
Abedini was born in Iran but became a U.S. citizen in 2010. In 2012, he tried to enter Iran to see his parents but his passport was taken and he was put under house arrest and later put in prison, his wife said.
In 2013, an Iranian court convicted him of threatening Iran's national security after he was accused of organising Christian home churches in Iran.
Abedini became the face of Christian persecution worldwide, particularly in the Middle East, with evangelical pastors regularly mentioning his name in their sermons all over the U.S.
For more than three years, evangelical leaders had pressed U.S. President Barack Obama to work for his release, saying this should have been part of the nuclear deal reached with Iran last year.
Iran freed Abedini and three U.S. prisoners as part of a prisoner swap, according to CNN. The other U.S. prisoners freed were Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian, Marine veteran Amir Hekmati, and Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari, senior U.S. administration officials said Saturday, confirming reports first published in Iranian media.
A fifth man—described as a recently detained student named Matthew Trevithick—was separately released which was not part of the prisoner exchange deal, U.S. officials said.
In exchange, the U.S. agreed to release seven Iranians held by the United States on sanctions charges, the officials confirmed. The deal comes after more than a year of secret negotiations, the officials said.
The announcement came moments before the United Nations' nuclear watchdog was expected to declare whether or not Iran is in compliance with a July deal to restrict its nuclear programme.
If the International Atomic Energy Agency certifies that Iran is in compliance, some international economic sanctions against Iran are expected to be lifted quickly.
Abedini's wife Naghmeh received the news of her husband's release early Saturday. She said she immediately told the good news to their two children.
"They were shocked," she told the Washington Post. "You can probably hear them now, jumping up and down, asking 'When are we going to see him?' It's been a time of rejoicing."
"We're delighted this day has finally arrived," said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, which represents the Abedini family. "Pastor Saeed should never been imprisoned in the first place," Fox News reported.
Naghmeh Abedini has been a leading advocate for her husband, posting updates on social media regularly and speaking regularly at Christian conferences across the country.
However, in November, Naghmeh Abedini suddenly began distancing herself from her husband and stopped clamouring for his release, telling supporters by e-mail that he has been abusive to her and she can "no longer live a lie."
In two e-mails sent to supporters, Naghmeh Abedini spoke about her troubled marriage, which she said began in 2004.
She said she had experienced "physical, emotional, psychological, and sexual abuse through her husband's addiction to pornography."
She wrote at the time, "The abuse started early in their marriage and has worsened during Saeed's imprisonment," which she confirmed to the Washington Post on Saturday.
She said she had been speaking with her husband by phone and through Skype, but this stopped in October.
She said the publication of her damning emails, which were leaked to media, was unfortunate.
"When he gets home, we can address the serious issues that have happened and continued," she told the Post.
She said she expected her husband to undergo medical examination. She said he had been beaten and suffered internal bleeding while in prison.
Naghmeh Abedini, who attends the nondenominational Calvary Chapel in Boise, said she does not know whether her husband will continue to be a pastor, though it's always been "his heart."
"I think he would have to deal with a lot of issues," she said. "There will need to be a time of healing for him and his family."