US citizen freed by Iran arrives in Oman

From Oman he will be transferred to the UAE, where he will have an operation at the Cleveland Clinic in Abu Dhabi, the family said.

Upon his arrival in Muscat, Mr Namazi said it was no surprise that Oman played a vital role in his release.

“Baquer Namazi has arrived safely in Oman this afternoon,” Oman’s Foreign Minister Basr Al Busaidi tweeted.

“My thanks for the cooperation and good faith of all the parties involved. Much more remains to be done, but we will continue to assist in any way possible through encouraging dialogue and building confidence.”

The former UN official, 85, was arrested in February 2016 while trying to visit his son, Siamak Namazi, who is also detained in Iran.

Mr Namazi was convicted in Iran of “collaboration with a hostile government” in 2016 and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Iranian authorities released him on medical grounds in 2018 and closed his case in 2020, commuting his sentence to time served but effectively barring him from leaving the country. The US said the accusations of spying were baseless.

The announcement by Mr Namazi’s lawyer that he had left Iran came shortly after Iranian state media broadcast footage of him climbing the stairs to board a plane on which the light blue insignia of the Royal Air Force of Oman could be seen.

“Today is a good day for the Namazi family, but the work is far from over. We now need the United States and Iran to act expeditiously to reach an agreement that will finally bring all of the American hostages home,” said Jared Genser, who is acting as Mr Namazi’s lawyer.