Iran state TV: US resident held as spy to be released

Tehran, Iran (AP) - Iranian state television reported on Monday that a US permanent resident accused of being convicted by a controversial spy "will be released in the next few hours."

Nizar Zakka is a Lebanese-born Internet freedom advocate and one of a series of prisoners with dual citizenship or links to the West. Tensions between Iran and the United States continue after President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the nuclear agreement between the United States and Tehran and the world powers.

A report released on the National Television website on Monday reflected a report by Zangju’s news agency earlier on Zaka, which was arrested in September 2015 when trying to fly out of Tehran. He was invited by the vice president of the country to attend the meeting.

National television, like Fars, quoted an anonymous source as saying that Zakka’s forthcoming news could only be seen as “respect” for Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasr.

“In this regard, there is no level of negotiation with anyone or any government,” National Television said.

A senior Lebanese security official is getting Zakka’s release in Tehran, which was expected in recent days.

In 2016, Iran sentenced Zakka to 10 years in prison. The authorities accused him of being an American spy and accused his family and associates of refusing.

Zakka, who lives in Washington and lives in the United States, leads the Arab ICT Organization (IJMA3), an industry consortium of 13 countries that advocates information technology in the region.

In 2016, the Associated Press reported that Zacka’s supporters wrote at the time - Secretary of State John Kerry said that Zakkar "goed to Iran with the informed and approved US State Department, and his travel was funded by grants."

Since 2009, Zakka's IJMA3 organization has received at least $730,000 in contracts and grants from the State Department and the United States Agency for International Development. The US government agencies are the primary agencies to eradicate poverty and promote democracy around the world.

The State Council has not responded to the information the Associated Press has raised over the years regarding these grants.

President Shahindokht Molaverdi, president of Hassan Rouhani, invited Zakka to Iran as vice president. He told the Associated Press in September that the Iranian government “failed” to help Zakka.

"This is by no means approved by the government," Moravidi said. “We did everything we could to prevent this from happening, but we found that we were not able to make a significant impact.”