Former US Marine Amir Hekmati said today he felt humbled and lucky to be free again, two days after being released alongside three other Americans in a prisoner swap with Iran.
News of his impending release came as a surprise and was hard to believe at first, Hekmati said in his first statement following his release Sunday.
"I was at a point where I had just sort of accepted the fact that I was going to be spending 10 years in prison, so this was a surprise and I just feel truly blessed to see my government do so much for me and the other Americans," he told reporters outside the US military's Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany where he was taken for treatment.
There was no advance warning of his release, he added. "They just came one morning and said 'pack your things.'"
The 32-year-old says he and his fellow prisoners weren't able to relax until the Swiss government plane they were flown out in had left Iranian airspace, after which "champagne bottles were popped."
Hekmati thanked US President Barack Obama, Congress and his other supporters, reserving special thanks for the US Marine Corps.
Asked about his 4 1/2 -years in Iranian prison, Hekmati said it "it wasn't good," but declined to elaborate. "He has not had much of a chance to exercise and he's lost some weight but he looks fit and I think he is on the mend," US Rep. Dan Kildee, a Democrat from Hekmati's home state of Michigan, earlier told The Associated Press.
"A better diet and a chance to exercise... And I think he'll turn out to be just fine."
Hekmati, Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian and pastor Saeed Abedini arrived late Sunday at Landstuhl for treatment.
