Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said at a press conference on Monday that the release of a Spanish citizen detained in Iran was a “humane” step.
The semi-official SNN news agency reported on Sunday that Santiago Sanchez was handed over to Spanish embassy officials in Tehran and was due to leave Tehran for Madrid shortly afterwards.
The Iranian embassy in Madrid also said on its page on the X that Sanchez had been released.
The Spanish football fan was declared wanted by Spain’s foreign ministry in October 2022 after travelling on foot to Qatar to attend the World Cup. Sanchez, 41, was last heard of on 1 October 2022, when he sent a photo to friends of himself at the Iraq-Iran border, captioned “Entering Iran”.
The following month, activist news agency HRANA reported that Iranian security forces had arrested at least two Spanish nationals during nationwide protests that began in 2022 following the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran’s vice police.
One of them was named Sanchez and the other was 24-year-old Ana Baneira, who was released in February 2023, according to the Spanish Foreign Ministry.
Sanchez’s release was undertaken “in consideration of human mercy and legal proceedings,” Kanaani said in response to a question.
