Freed US prisoners leave Iran, arrive in Germany

Three Iranian-Americans arrived in Germany after leaving Tehran on Sunday in a prisoner swap following the lifting of most international sanctions on Iran under a deal U.S. President Barack Obama said had cut off Tehran’s path to a nuclear bomb.

In a sign of sustained readiness to track Iranian compliance with remaining United Nations curbs, the United States imposed fresh sanctions on 11 companies and individuals for supplying Iran’s ballistic missile programme.

The Obama administration had delayed the step for more than two weeks during tense negotiations to free five American prisoners, according to people familiar with the matter. Iran conducted a precision-guided ballistic missile test last October, violating a U.N. ban.

“This is a good day because once again we are seeing what’s possible through strong American diplomacy,” Mr. Obama said at the White House. “These things are a reminder of what we can achieve when we lead with strength and with wisdom.”

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani hailed the nuclear deal as a “golden page” in Iran’s history and said the agreement could be used as a model to resolve other regional issues.

The lifting of sanctions and the prisoner deal considerably reduce the hostility between Tehran and Washington that has shaped the Middle East since Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979.

A Swiss plane took Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post’s Tehran bureau chief; Saeed Abedini, a pastor from Idaho; and Amir Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine from Flint, Michigan, as well as some family members, from Tehran to Geneva, Switzerland.

Shortly afterward, the three left for a U.S. military base in Germany, arriving there later on Sunday, a U.S. State Department official said.

One more Iranian-American released under the same swap, Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari, was not aboard the aircraft. A fifth prisoner, American student Matthew Trevithick, was released separately on Saturday, a U.S. official said.

Several Iranian-Americans held in U.S. prisons after being charged or convicted for sanctions violations have also been released, their lawyers told Reuters on Sunday.

In a statement after the release of Mr. Rezaian, Washington Post publisher Frederick Ryan said: “We are relieved that this 545-day nightmare for Jason and his family is finally over.”

Mr. Rezaian was arrested in July 2014 and sentenced in November to a prison term. Iranian prosecutors had accused him of espionage, charges the Post had dismissed as “absurd”.

Naghmeh Abedini, the wife of the Idaho pastor, said in a Facebook post on Sunday that Mr. Obama called her after her husband was flown out of Iran.

“I am thankful for our President and all of the hard work by the White House and State Department in making this happen,” said Ms. Abedini, who has appeared with U.S. Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, a U.S. senator and a harsh critic of the Iran nuclear deal.

Months of talks

The prisoner deal was the culmination of months of contacts, secret talks and legal manoeuvring that came close to falling apart on at least one occasion.

Speaking to parliament on Sunday, Mr. Rouhani, a pragmatic cleric elected in 2013 on promises to end Iran’s years of sanctions and isolation, said he looked forward to an economic future less dependent on oil exports.

The exports are nevertheless likely to jump now that the United States, European Union and United Nations have scrapped the sanctions in return for Tehran complying with the deal to curb its nuclear ambitions, which Tehran says were peaceful.

But Mr. Rouhani noted bitter opposition to the lifting of economic curbs from Israel, some members of the U.S. Congress and what he called “warmongers” in the region — an apparent reference to some of Iran’s Gulf Arab adversaries, not least Saudi Arabia.

Presenting the draft budget for the next Iranian fiscal year, which begins in March, Mr. Rouhani told parliament the deal was a “turning point” for the economy of Iran, a major oil producer virtually shut out of international markets for the past five years.

He said later he expected 5 per cent economic growth in the next Iranian fiscal year and assured foreign investors of political and economic stability.

“The nuclear negotiations which succeeded by the guidance of the Supreme Leader and support of our nation, were truly a golden page in Iran’s history,” he said.

Tens of billions of dollars’ worth of Iranian assets will now be unfrozen and global companies that have been barred from doing business there will be able to exploit a market hungry for everything from automobiles to airplane parts.

After the prisoners were freed, it was announced that the United States and Iran settled a long-standing claim, releasing to Tehran $400 million in funds frozen since 1981 plus $1.3 billion in interest, the State Department said. The funds were part of a trust fund once used by Iran to purchase military equipment from the United States, which was tied up for decades in litigation at the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal in The Hague.

Crowning achievement for Rouhani

In Tehran, ordinary Iranians were cautious about what the future holds after the lifting of sanctions. Many have lived under sanctions or wartime austerity for so long that they have no clear expectations about what the future might hold.

The United States’ thaw with Iran is viewed with deep suspicion by U.S. Republicans as well as allies of Washington in the Middle East, including Israel and Saudi Arabia. U.S.-Iranian suspicion still remains deeply entrenched. Mr. Rouhani said economic ties would not be fully restored.

Iran’s Gulf Arab adversaries were silent on news of the nuclear deal’s implementation, in what was perhaps a sign of unease at the rapprochement.

Israel’s opposition was evident in a statement from the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday night, which said that even after signing the nuclear deal, Iran had not yet “abandoned its aspirations to acquire nuclear weapons”.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) ruled on Saturday that Iran had fulfilled last year’s agreement with six world powers to curtail its nuclear programme, triggering the end of sanctions.

Minutes after the IAEA’s ruling, the United States formally lifted banking, steel, shipping and other sanctions on Iran. The EU likewise ended all nuclear-related economic and financial sanctions against the country. Most U.N. sanctions also automatically ended.

The end of sanctions means more money and prestige for Shia Iran as it becomes deeply embroiled in the sectarian conflicts of the Middle East, notably in the Syrian civil war where its allies are facing Sunni Muslim rebels.

It is also a crowning achievement for Mr. Rouhani.

Britain welcomed the deal’s implementation, as did France, which said it would watch to ensure the deal was strictly respected. Japan said it planned to lift most of its sanctions against Iran, including a halt to fresh investments in Iranian oil and gas projects, “within a few days”.

The European Commission said it would undertake a first “technical assessment mission” in February to explore energy ties with Iran. The E.U. executive is particularly keen to develop Iranian supplies as an alternative to Russia, whose powerful role as supplier of around a third of the E.U.’s oil and gas has divided the bloc.

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One detained in connection with Istanbul suicide attack

Turkish police have arrested one person in connection with the deadly suicide bombing in Istanbul that killed 10 Germans, officials said on Wednesday.

The suspect was detained in Istanbul late Tuesday, Interior Minister Efkan Ala said during a news conference with his visiting German counterpart. He didn’t provide further details. Turkish media reports said police had raided a home in an affluent neighborhood of Istanbul, detaining one woman suspected of having links to the Islamic State group, although it wasn’t clear if she was the suspect Mr. Ala was referring to.

On Wednesday, Turkish police also arrested 13 suspected Islamic State militants, including three Russian nationals, a day after the bombing in Istanbul’s historic Sultanahmet district. The attack, which also wounded 15 other people, including Germans, a Norwegian man and a Peruvian woman, was the latest in a string of attacks by Islamic extremists targeting Westerners.

Turkish authorities identified the bomber as a Syrian born in 1988, who had recently entered Turkey. Turkish media, including newspapers close to the government, identified him as Nabil Fadli, and said he was born in Saudi Arabia. Mr. Ala said the suicide bomber wasn’t on any Turkish or international watch lists for Islamic State militants.

Officials initially said that at least eight Germans were among the dead in Tuesday’s explosion. On Wednesday, German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Sawsan Chebli said the number had risen to 10.

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said there was no sign that Germans were specifically targeted.

“According to the investigations so far, there are no indications that the attack was directed specifically against Germans, so there can’t be any connection to our contribution to the fight against international terrorism,” Mr. de Maiziere said.

Germany committed Tornado reconnaissance jets to the military effort against the Islamic State group in Syria following the November attacks in Paris, and started flying missions from the Incirlik air base in Turkey last week. It also sent a tanker aircraft, as well as a frigate to help protect a French aircraft carrier in the eastern Mediterranean. It hasn’t taken a direct combat role, however. Germany already was helping supply and train Kurdish forces fighting Islamic State in northern Iraq.

Mr. Ala urged Turkish citizens and foreign visitors to go about their daily lives, insisting that the country had taken “all necessary security precautions.” He said Turkey had detained as many as 220 Islamic State suspects in the week prior to the attack.

Mr. de Maiziere said: “I see no reason to refrain from traveling to Turkey.” He added there was no reason for people who are already there to break off their trips.

Top German and Turkish officials already were scheduled to meet in Berlin next week to discuss Europe’s migrant crisis, in which Turkey which borders both Syria and the European Union is a key player. Mr. de Maiziere said those talks will now also address “the determined fight against terrorism”.

“If the terrorists aimed to destroy or endanger the cooperation between partners, then they achieved the opposite,” Mr. de Maziere said. “Germany and Turkey are coming even closer together.”

The Russians were detained in the Mediterranean coastal city of Antalya, a popular destination for tourists, but it wasn’t clear if the arrests were directly linked to the Istanbul bombing. The state-run Anadolu Agency said the suspects were allegedly in contact with IS fighters in conflict zones and had provided logistical support to the group. Ten other people were detained in Turkey’s third largest city, Izmir, and in the central city of Konya.

Nearly 3,000 Russians, mostly from the predominantly Muslim North Caucasus, are believed to have gone to fight alongside Islamic State militants in Syria. Families of Islamic State recruits and human rights activists in the Caucasus have described Turkey as the main gateway to Syria for Russian fighters. Some IS fighters of Russian origin are believed to have left the Islamic State to settle in Turkey, families say.

Tuesday’s blast just steps from the historic Blue Mosque was the first by Islamic State to target Turkey’s vital tourism sector, although the militants have struck with deadly effect elsewhere in the country.

The impact of Tuesday’s attack, while not as deadly as two others last year, was particularly far-reaching because it struck at Turkey’s $30 billion tourism industry, which has already suffered from a steep decline in Russian visitors since Turkey shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border in November.

Many of the victims appeared to be German couples.

The State government in Brandenburg said a couple aged 71 and 73 from Falkensee, outside Berlin, were killed, while authorities in the western state of Rhineland-Palatinate say a couple from there were killed the husband was 61 and the wife 59. In addition, a 73-year-old man from the region was among the dead while his wife was seriously injured. The western State of Hesse said a 67-year-old man from that region was killed and his 50-year-old wife wounded.

Turkish newspapers printed words of condolence in German.

“With you in our hearts,” the Haber Turk newspaper read. “Your pain is our pain” Vatan newspaper said.

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Germany: Pakistanis, Syrian attacked in Cologne amid tension

A group of Pakistanis and a Syrian were attacked in Cologne amid tensions over New Year’s Eve assaults in the city that have been blamed largely on foreigners, police said on Monday.

Six Pakistani nationals were attacked on Sunday by around 20 people and two of them were briefly admitted to a hospital, police said. Also on Sunday evening, a Syrian man was attacked by five people. He was injured but didn’t need treatment.

Police said they received tips on Sunday afternoon about groups of people who would “seek provocation,” but were still investigating whether the subsequent attacks were racially motivated and whether there was any link to the New Year’s assaults.

Those assaults have stoked tensions over Germany’s open-door policy to refugees and prompted politicians to call for tougher laws against migrants who commit crimes.

“As abominable as the crimes in Cologne and other cities were, one thing remains clear- there is no justification for blanket agitation against foreigners,” Justice Minister Heiko Maas said, adding that some people “appear just to have been waiting for the events of Cologne.”

Authorities and witnesses said the New Year’s Eve attackers were among a group of about a thousand people, described as predominantly Arab and North African men, who gathered at Cologne’s central train station. Some broke off into small groups and groped and robbed women, police said.

Cologne police say 516 criminal complaints have now been filed with them in connection to the New Year’s attacks. About 40 per cent involve allegations of sexual offenses.

Cologne’s police drew criticism both for their response and for their slowness to release information on what had happened. Police chief Wolfgang Albers was dismissed on Friday by North Rhine—Westphalia state’s Interior Minister, Ralf Jaeger.

At a session on Monday of the state legislature’s home affairs committee, Mr. Jaeger said Cologne police hadn’t called in reinforcements who were offered, news agency dpa reported.

Mr. Jaeger said that witness and police reports “indicate that it was almost exclusively people with an immigrant background who committed these crimes.”

In a separate incident, police said on Sunday two migrants a Syrian and an Afghan were arrested in northern Germany on suspicion of attacking and robbing a French man who was wearing a Jewish skullcap at the Puttgarden ferry port. The incident happened on Saturday, and the two men had been denied entry to Denmark the previous day.

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Wolfsburg oust Manchester United from Champions League in a thriller

VfL Wolfsburg reached the Champions League last 16 and dealt a knockout blow to Manchester United with a 3-2 victory to claim top spot in Group B and condemn their opponents to the Europa League on Tuesday.

In a dramatic end to a pulsating encounter in Germany, United were set to reach the next round when an own goal by Josuha Guilavogui levelled the scores at 2-2 with eight minutes left.

But Wolfsburg's Brazilian centre back Naldo headed his second of the night, after cancelling out Anthony Martial's opener for United, to leave the visitors needing PSV Eindhoven to lose at home to CSKA Moscow in the group's other game.

For a brief moment late in the second half it looked like United would get their wish, but PSV rallied to level and then snatch a late 2-1 win that left them second in the standings on 10 points, two ahead of United and two behind Wolfsburg.

The result was an added blow for United's Dutch manager Louis van Gaal, who has had to fend off heavy criticism for his team's perceived negative approach throughout the season.

"We fought for the win, we couldn't have done more than we have done," Van Gaal told BT Sport. "I'm very disappointed. This is the league (where) we want to show our qualities and we cannot do that anymore."

United had taken the lead through Martial after an incisive break led by Juan Mata.

The Spanish playmaker was allowed space to turn in midfield and produced a superb defence-splitting pass to find the Frenchman racing through on goal. Martial took a touch, opened his body up and slotted into the corner.

The Germans counter-punched almost immediately, however.

Ricardo Rodriguez whipped a free kick into the area and Naldo swung his right boot at the ball to direct a pinpoint low volley past United keeper David De Gea.

Germans Ahead

Wolfsburg went in front with the game's standout goal after 28 minutes when Portuguese Vieirinha put the finishing touch to an astonishing team move, orchestrated by Julian Draxler.

The Germany winger beat two defenders with a drop of the shoulder and a burst of pace before exchanging a quick one-two with Max Kruse and then unselfishly squaring for Vieirinha to sweep home.

United had a goal ruled out at the end of the first half when Jesse Lingard bent a curling shot into the net past keeper Diego Benaglio around the back of Mata.

The Spaniard, however, was offside and deemed to be interfering with play despite not touching the ball.

After both keepers showcased their abilities early in the second half, the match took two dramatic turns late on.

The match levelled when Wolfsburg's Guilavogui deflected a tame header from Marouane Fellaini over Benaglio, to put the visitors on track to qualify with PSV then drawing against CSKA.

But Naldo's late header, combined with another goal in Eindhoven, turned the scenario on its head and left United to drop into the second-tier Europa League competition.

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