A U.S. permanent resident was freed from Iran after being imprisoned there since 2015

Lebanese President Michel Aoun and Nizar Zakka. — (Image credit: ANWAR AMRO/AFP/Getty Images)

Amid rising tensions with the United States, Iran released Nizar Zakka, a 52-year-old Lebanese man and permanent U.S. resident, who had been held in Iranian prison since 2015. Zakka is reportedly en route back to Lebanon as of Tuesday.

Zakka, an IT expert, was arrested after attending a conference in Tehran, to which he was invited by the Iranian government. The U.S. protested his imprisonment and called for his release, and an adviser to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani expressed regret over the matter, blaming Iran's judiciary branch and the limited authority of the civilian government.

It's unclear whether the decision to release Zakka represents a softening of Iran's stance in its conflict with the U.S. or whether the country will continue to release other foreigners being held in prison, including several Americans. While the White House said it was "thankful" for Zakka's release, it was not actually negotiated between the U.S. and Iran. Instead, Iran reportedly worked with Lebanon to settle the situation.

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The United States says it will continue to call for the release of the other "missing and wrongly detained American citizens."

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.