Lebanese President Appreciates Iran’s Good Will to Free Nizar Zakka

Aoun had sent a request to Rouhani requesting the release of American-Lebanese national Nizar Zakka, who was arrested in Tehran back in 2015, charged with spying for US intelligence services and army.

He met with Zakka at the presidential palace in Baabda, in the suburb of Beirut hours after he arrived in Beirut from Tehran along with head of Lebanese General Security and special envoy to Iran Major General Abbas Ibrahim.

Zakka left Tehran on a private jet on Tuesday afternoon with General Ibrahim, who had travelled to the Iranian capital on Sunday.

During the meeting with Zakka, President Aoun expressed pleasure with his release, and thanked President Rouhani for responding positively to his request.

According to the spokesman for Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Keivan Khosravi on Tuesday, Zakka’s release came in response to the Lebanese president’s request and Hezbollah Leader Hassan Nasrallah’s mediation.

Zakka was arrested in 2015 on espionage charges. Sources told the Iranian state TV at the time that he had “deep ties” with the US military and intelligence services.

Zakka’s photographs showed him in military uniform at a US base in the Riverside county, California.