Iran Tells Lebanon to Send Delegation to Repatriate Zakka

Iran has asked Lebanese authorities to send a delegation to Tehran in order to be handed over the Lebanese detainee Nizar Zakka, who has been held in Iran since 2015.

“After the lengthy efforts that were lately intensified, the Iranian ambassador to Beirut called the Foreign Minister (Jebran Bassil) and officially informed him that the relevant Iranian authorities have positively responded to Lebanese President General Michel Aoun’s plea to his Iranian counterpart Sheikh Hassan Rouhani and to the Foreign Minister’s letter to his Iranian counterpart regarding the pardon of Lebanese national Nizar Zakka for the occasion of Eid al-Fitr,” the Foreign Ministry said.

The Iranian ambassador told Bassil that “the authorities in Iran are ready to receive any Lebanese delegation at any time in order to hand it over the pardoned Lebanese Nizar Zakka,” the Ministry added.

“The Foreign Minister informed the President of the matter and the President immediately asked General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim to carry out the mission in coordination with Lebanon’s embassy in Tehran,” the Ministry revealed.

Moreover, the Ministry thanked the competent Iranian authorities for “wrapping up this file,” saying Lebanon wants “the best bilateral relations between the two countries” and calling for the "best cooperation" and "mutual respect for the sovereignty of the two countries in order to achieve the common interest, based on the rules of international law and the good ties.”

Zakka’s lawyer has said that his client will be released in the "next few days."

Majed Dimashkiyeh told The Associated Press that Zakka's expected release comes after mediations by top Lebanese officials, including President Aoun and Prime Minister Saad Hariri. Aoun is a close ally of Hizbullah, a powerful Iranian-backed Lebanese group.

The expected release of Zakka, 52, comes at a time of rising tension in the Middle East between the United States and Iran.

Zakka, who has permanent U.S. residency, went missing in 2015, during his fifth trip to Iran. Two weeks later, Iranian state TV reported that he was in custody and suspected of having "deep links" to U.S. intelligence services.

Zakka was sentenced to 10 years in prison in September 2016 and handed a $4.2 million fine after a security court convicted him of espionage.

Zakka's family denies the allegations.

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives issued a resolution two years ago calling for Zakka's release.