Official: Lebanese freed by Iran now in Beirut

BEIRUT (AP) — A Lebanese airport official says a Lebanese businessman and U.S. resident freed by Iran has arrived in Beirut.

The official says Nizar Zakka has landed at Beirut's Rafik Hariri airport aboard a private jet, accompanied by the chief of Lebanon's General Security Directorate, Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Abbas, who traveled to Tehran to bring him home.

Zakka has been imprisoned in Iran on spying charges since 2015. He was released amid heightened tensions between Iran and the U.S. after President Donald Trump withdrew America from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers.

The White House says it is "thankful" for his release.

Zakka is expected to head from the airport to the presidential palace where he will be received by Lebanese President Michel Aoun, who had personally requested his release.