Thread by @jrezaian

5 years ago today I was freed from Evin prison in #Iran. @YeganehSalehi and I boarded a plane for a new life we couldn’t imagine. Isolated from most human contact and information for 544 days, I knew almost nothing about efforts to bring me home.

That began to change when we landed in Geneva. Waiting for us on the tarmac was @brett_mcgurk who, over 14 months, secretly negotiated our release. It almost fell through right at the end. He told us “someday I’ll tell you about the last 24 hours.”

I spent much of my time in my first months of freedom piecing together what had happened to me. True to his word, @brett_mcgurk and many other officials provided with me their accounts of working toward my release and the challenges and risks involved.

Through those conversations with dozens of people who were involved in efforts to free me & other Americans, and in nuclear negotiations with Iran, a portrait emerged of experienced & knowledgeable public servants doing what they believed was right for country & fellow citizens.

Some of them will have key roles in the @JoeBiden administration including @JohnKerry @wendyrsherman @AmbassadorRice @LisaMonaco @DenisMcDonough @jonfiner, and also @brett_mcgurk. I, for one, am thankful because each of them is an honest, thoughtful patriot.

But coming home is just one part of the story. A successful re-integration after that kind of traumatic ordeal requires a team effort. And @YeganehSalehi have been fortunate to have the dream team of advisors and guardian angels.

From the earliest days, Anthony Bourdain counseled Yegi and me in ways that are still making a difference in our lives all these years later. He encouraged me to tell our story. Ultimately he published my book. We’ll miss Tony forever.

So did @realBobWoodward. If I hadn’t listened to him I’m not sure where I’d be now. He and his incredible assistant @_EvelynMDuffy helped me organize my memories, record and get them down on paper while they were still fresh. The contribution they made to my book is immeasurable.

After leading public advocacy campaigns for our freedom at the @PressClubDC long before we ever met him, @mccarrennews guided Yegi and me to a new life in Washington DC. It took a pandemic to break our string of Christmas Eves at the McCarren house.

That included introducing us to @GWtweets, which welcomed us with open arms. Soon after our arrival I met @franksesno who created an opportunity for me to engage with students @SMPAGWU. It was an integral part of regaining my ability to communicate and socialize again.

Then Harvard's @niemanfdn invited us to be part of their their 2017 class. Some say the greatest class in the fellowship's history. The cohort of fellow fellows and their families, along with @AMLwhere and the entire staff at Lippmann House, are family to us.

None of this would have been possible if the @washingtonpost hadn’t stuck by me. Through our ordeal and long after it. That started with an undying commitment by @jeffbezos and Publisher Fred Ryan to bring us home safely.

My bosses, @jehld & @PostBaron, added freeing a correspondent to their heavy duties of editing one of the world’s most influential newspapers. When I came home they promised me I’d have a job. The other gentleman is Ambassador Bob Kimmitt of @WilmerHale: Best. Lawyer. Ever!

I’ve since moved to @PostOpinions where I’m honored to work for @hiattf, @JacksonDiehl & @elopezgross. Alongside colleagues like @IgnatiusPost and @Milbank who wrote about me when I was in prison and asked tough questions from US and Iranian officials when I was locked up.

Thankfully, after 5 years I feel like I have some distance from that very difficult experience. Now that it’s behind me, I try to focus as much attention as possible on raising awareness for cases of foreign nationals being held as hostages in #Iran & other places, like I was.

Whenever another hostage is released, we rejoice. @FreeNizarZakka, @XiyueWang9, @FreeMikeWhite @KMooreGilbert are all home now, able to go back to their lives as free people, which is easier said than done sometimes.

But there are still so many more foreign nationals who are being held hostage in #Iran and need to come home. #FreeNazanin, #FreetheNamazis, #FreeSiamak #FreeMorad, #FreeFariba, #FreeNahid, #Saveahmadreza #FreeAnoosheh #FreeKamran #FreeMassud #FreeAras

Putting an end to state sponsored hostage taking once and for all is an important and achievable goal. If we can succeed in ending this barbaric practice by #Iran, and an increasing number of other governments, the world will be a safer place.

I am incredibly fortunate for many reasons, but most of all because I have a family that never quit on me. My mom came to Tehran to agitate for my release. In the face of real danger, my wife @YeganehSalehi was fearless. She was jailed and spent 72 days in solitary confinement.

My brother @arezaian put his life on hold to advocate for me in the free world. He traveled dozens of times to Washington DC, to points around the world.

In the end, it all worked and I was reunited with my family.