“Thank You, Iran!” Trump Hails Release Of Captive Navy Vet, Issues Rare Praise Of Tehran

Could this mark the beginning of the end for the US ‘maximum pressure’ campaign against Iran? Is this the big diplomatic “opening” that will dramatically soften tensions?

On Thursday evening President Trump in an unprecedented move actually praised the Islamic Republic after Tehran released US Navy veteran Michael White, who faced a decade behind bars as essentially a political prisoner after the Iranians arrested and convicted him for “insulting” the Supreme Leader, among other things, in June 2018.

White languished for two years behind bars while the deadly coronavirus pandemic ravaged the country’s overpopulated prisons, resulting in Iranian furloughing tens of thousands of jailed citizens.

…to the UNITED STATES! We have now brought more than 40 American hostages and detainees back home since I took office. Thank you to Iran, it shows a deal is possible!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2020

“Thank you to Iran, it shows a deal is possible!” Trump in a surprise tweet said, announcing that White “will be on a U.S. plane shortly, and is COMING HOME.”

The “deal” references the Trump administration’s efforts to get Iran back to the table to ultimately “negotiation a better deal” following the president initially pulling the US out of the Obama-brokered JCPOA nuclear deal in May 2018.

White said he had contracted coronavirus while held in Mashhad central prison. This was a crucial factor in the diplomatic opening which led to his release, according to Reuters:

Iran’s decision to release American Michael White and the U.S. move to let dual citizen Majid Taheri visit Iran, both of which were confirmed by Iran’s foreign minister, appeared to be a rare instance of U.S.-Iranian cooperation.

A White House spokesman expressed hope that White’s release could lead to an opening in the bitter relationship.

White has already been released to US custody in Zurich, and is being flown back to US soil:

“I’m improving. I did contract coronavirus in the Mashhad central prison prior to going out on furlough. But I’m recovering pretty decently,” White told Fox News Channel on the tarmac of Zurich airport, adding he had been “in poor shape.”

In the years following Trump ditching the nuclear deal, especially since last summer, tensions have skyrocketed into direct conflict especially centered in Iraq, where in January the Pentagon assassinated IRGC Quds Force chief Qassem Soleimani, which could have easily sparked broader war.

But there’s been a bit of a cooling since the start of the global pandemic, which hit Iran especially hard, causing the US and UK to instensify efforts to get their citizens – often dual nationals languishing in political prisons on generic “spying” charges – released. 

I am to happy announce that Navy Veteran, Michael White, who has been detained by Iran for 683 days, is on a Swiss plane that just left Iranian Airspace. We expect him to be home with his family in America very soon….

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2020

Apparently those intense efforts have been rewarded, given as Trump said 40 American hostages been released since the president took office. 

The US for its part has also lately released Iranian academics and scientists, typically held on US soil on low-level crimes, as part of good faith deals of late.