Irish man Bernard Phelan has left Iran after being released from over six months in prison, the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin has said.
The Iranian Embassy in Ireland confirmed this morning that Mr Phelan - an Irish-French citizen - had been pardoned and released on consular and humanitarian grounds.
The 64-year-old, who is originally from Clonmel in Co Tipperary, was detained in Iran in October last year.
The Paris-based travel consultant was arrested while travelling, and was being held in Mashhad in northeastern Iran.
The country accused him of anti-government propaganda, a charge he had denied.
Speaking on RTÉ's News At One, Mr Martin said that Mr Phelan had left Iran early this afternoon following his release.
"We had the news yesterday that his release was on track," Mr Martin said.
"In terms of his condition I'd prefer for him to come to Paris and there will be assessments there, but the circumstances over there were difficult, so on humanitarian grounds we pressed the Iranian authorities to release him," he said.
"It has been an extraordinary difficult seven months for Bernard, and for his family members and loved ones, our thoughts are with all of them today, and particularly his 97-year-old father, and his sister Caroline, who I spoke with yesterday, and who has been incredibly brave and steadfast throughout this ordeal".
"We would have hoped for news earlier, which didn't come to fruition, but on this occasion it has and I can say on behalf of the officials working on this for quite some time, we are overjoyed that Bernard is on his way home".
Mr Phelan's sister Caroline said the family "cannot express how relieved" they were. "So many people have been involved in making this moment happen and we want to thank everybody. Bernard has been held captive for over 200 days, so at this time we gratefully ask that he is given the time and space needed to recover."
Mr Phelan's release was welcomed by French president Emmanuel Macron, who described it as "a relief".
"Free, finally. Benjamin Brière and Bernard Phelan will find their loved ones. It is a relief. I welcome their release. Thank you to everyone who worked on this outcome."
In February, a judge in Iran sentenced Mr Phelan to three-and-a-half years, but said he would be pardoned on humanitarian grounds.
However, a week later, his family said, he was back in court and his sentence was increased to six-and-a-half years and was told he would not be pardoned.
In recent weeks his family, who had been campaigning for his release, had highlighted that Mr Phelan's health had been deteriorating while in detention, and he had cardiac and bone issues.
Phelan entitled to reparations from Iran - Amnesty
Amnesty International has welcomed the release of Bernard Phelan.
In a statement, the human rights group described the detention as arbitrary, due to the gravity of violations of his fair trial rights, including the right to access an independent lawyer of his own choosing, to adequate defence and to meaningfully challenge the legality of his detention before an independent and impartial court.
For this and other human rights violations, Amnesty International said, Mr Phelan must be accorded an enforceable right to reparations from the Iranian authorities.
