Detained US Resident Freed by Iran, on His Way to Lebanon

Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, right, chief of Lebanese General Security Directorate, and Nizar Zakka, left, a Lebanese citizen and permanent U.S. resident who was released in Tehran after nearly four yeas in jail, aboard the flight from Iran to Lebanon, on June 11, 2019. The official twitter page of the Lebanese General Security Directorate via AP

BEIRUT—A U.S. permanent resident and Lebanese businessman who was imprisoned for years in Iran has been freed and was on his way back to his native Lebanon on June 11, a development that comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and the U.S. after President Donald Trump withdrew America from Tehran’s nuclear deal.

Nizar Zakka, held in Iran since 2015 on charges of spying, was on a plane accompanied by the chief of Lebanon’s General Security Directorate, Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Abbas, heading to the Lebanese capital, according to a photo released by the directorate on its official Twitter page.