After landing, the released prisoners and their loved ones stood together for a photo, yelling "Freedom!" according to The Associated Press. The group also included two female relatives of the prisoners, who had previously been forbidden from traveling.

Namazi said on Monday that "what should have been the best days of my life were stolen" from him by Iran because of his detention.

"What I want more than anything is assurance that no one else will know the interminable anguish that my family and I experienced," he said. "But sadly, many are suffering those miseries right now."

Iran, Namazi said, "has mastered the nasty game of caging innocent Americans and other foreign nationals, and commercializing their freedom."