President Trump announced that Iran released American Navy veteran Michael White who was held hostage for two years.
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
Trump also said he will “never stop working to secure release of all Americans held hostage overseas,” and thanked Switzerland for assisting in the release.
White has sentenced by the Iranian government to 10 years in prison where he contracted Covid-19 which has rampantly spread across Iran.
Iran released White, a cancer survivor, to the Swiss embassy, according to USA Today.
According to Fox News, the release of White is part of a prisoner swap. In the swap, the US agreed to release an Iranian-American doctor who was serving time for violating US-sanctions against Iran.
White, a cancer survivor, was currently on medical furlough in Iran:
White, who has battled cancer and other illnesses, was initially released on a medical furlough, but he was still ordered to stay in Iran at the time.
“Michael White’s a pretty tough guy. He’s a cancer survivor. He has now survived two years in Iranian prison where he was beaten in prison. He then contracted in COVID and survived,” said Brian Hook, the State Department’s Special Representative for Iran, who negotiated the agreement to free White. “The Iranian regime has a history of using Americans as political pawns.”
