Jason Rezaian, Washington Post reporter and one of the US citizens recently released from detention in Iran, poses with his wife Yeganeh Salehi and mother Mary Rezaian outside the Emergency Room of the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in the southwestern town of Landstuhl, Germany, January 20. Rezaian, who grew up in Marin County, said in a statement to his employer the Washington Post, "I hope everyone will respect my need for privacy as I take some time for myself and for my family. I feel alive for the first time", Hekmati said on January 19 in his first public comments since his release.

Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post reporter freed from an Iranian prison after more than 18 months, has said that he is "feeling fine" and looking forward to seeing the new Star Wars film.

"He continues to be in great spirits, his health is sound, he's going through a process and it's going to take a few more days, but Jason's on track to get his life back", Huffman said.

For four or five hours, the women couldn't be found. McGurk said it's still unknown what the snag was and whether they were being intentionally hidden.

Kildee ate dinner with Hekmati and his family at a facility inside the hospital, a meeting that went late into the evening, Kildee said. Hekmati was originally sentenced to death.

"Today my family and I left Landstuhl to return home to the United States", Rezaian said in the statement.

"I was at a point where I had just sort of accepted the fact that I would be spending 10 years in prison, and so this is, it was a surprise", he said after landing in Detroit on Thursday.

"While I am thankful that the State Department and the Obama administration has called for my release and that of my fellow Americans, there has been no serious response to this blatant and ongoing mistreatment of Americans by Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and they continue on with impunity", Hekmati wrote to congressional leaders in April.

Kildee launched a Free Amir campaign, engaging in private negotiations with the Swiss and Iranian governments - Switzerland represents US interests with Iran - and working with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, according to the Detroit Free Press.

On Tuesday, he told reporters how his disbelief turned to joy when he and three fellow Americans realized they were being freed.

Hekmati, a 32-year-old former Marine born in the USA, was incarcerated in Iran in 2011, charged with espionage while visiting relatives there. The family said he was told at least once, falsely, that his mother had been killed in a vehicle wreck.

It's not clear when Hekmati will return to the Flint area, since he must undergo medical tests and a government debriefing.