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 Pastor Saeed Abedini, 35, arrived in North Carolina on Thursday
afternoon, a spokesman for a Christian group said.
Ex-Marine Amir Hekmati, 32, touched down in a private jet at the
airport in his hometown of Flint, Michigan, and stepped onto a small
red carpet on the tarmac.
They were among five Americans whose release coincided with the
lifting last weekend of economic sanctions against Iran in return
for curbs on Tehran's nuclear program. The White House offered
clemency to seven Iranians who were convicted or facing trial in the
United States.
Hekmati spent more than four years in jail in Iran where he faced
the death sentence at one point.
“I am happy to finally be home. It’s been a very long road, a very
long journey. Unfortunately, many people have traveled this road
with me," he told reporters.
 He was arrested while visiting family in Iran in 2011 and accused of
being a U.S. spy, a charge his relatives and the United States deny.
He was sentenced to death the following year
but that was commuted to a 10-year prison term.
Hekmati said on Thursday he was "healthy, tall and with my head held
high." The son of Iranian immigrants, Hekmati went to high school in
Flint, an industrial town now struggling with a water contamination
crisis.
“It’s great to be back in Flint, my hometown. I love this city. I
love its people. They have been so good to me and my family and we
are very grateful,” Hekmati said.
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Abedini, a naturalized U.S. citizen of Iranian origin,
arrived at the Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove, a Christian
conference center in Asheville, North Carolina, that is linked to
popular evangelist Billy Graham.
"He arrived safely in Asheville," said Todd Shearer, a spokesman for
the Graham family.
Abedini was sentenced in 2013 to eight years in prison after being
accused of harming Iran's national security by setting up
home-based churches in Iran.
He was reunited with his parents on Thursday, his wife said.
(Reporting by David Bailey, Colleen Jenkins and Ben Klayman; Writing
by Alistair Bell; Editing by James Dalgleish and Peter Cooney)
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