Champagne flowed when released Americans finally left Iran

LANDSTUHL, Germany – Pale but smiling, former U.S. Marine Amir Hekmati recounted Tuesday how disbelief turned to joy when he and three fellow Americans realized that they were being released as part of a deal with Iran and reunited with their families after spending years in Iranian prison.

Speaking publicly for the first time since being allowed to leave Iran in a prisoner swap Sunday, Hekmati said the sudden end to his four-year ordeal still seemed surreal. Convicted by an Iranian court of spying and sentenced to death in 2012, he was later given a 10-year sentence on a lesser charge after a retrial.

“I was at a point where I had just sort of accepted the fact that I was going to be spending 10 years in prison, so this was a surprise and I just feel truly blessed to see my government do so much for me and the other Americans,” Hekmati told reporters outside the U.S. military’s Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, where he was taken for treatment.

There was no advance warning of his release, he added. “They just came one morning and said ‘pack your things.’ ”

“I was worried that maybe the Iranian side was going to make new demands at the last minute or that the deal wasn’t going to work out, so up until the last second we were all worried and concerned,” he said.

The 32-year-old says he and his fellow prisoners endured repeated delays until they were allowed to board a Swiss government plane. But they weren’t able to relax until the jet had left Iranian airspace, after which “champagne bottles were popped” and veal and chocolates were served.

Asked about his 4 1/2 years in Iranian prison, Hekmati said “it wasn’t good,” but that his Marine training helped sustain him.

Hekmati, Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian and pastor Saeed Abedini arrived late Sunday at Landstuhl for treatment. A fourth American opted to stay in Iran, and a fifth American was released separately.