Iranian state TV aired footage of Dehbashi Kivi returning home after 13 months in custody in Australia.Credit:Iribnews
Mr Dehbashi Kivi returned to Iran on Saturday after being released by the Morrison government in an apparent exchange for thetwo Australian travellers,Mark Firkin and Jolie King,who had spent three months in a Tehran jail for allegedly flying a drone over a military precinct without a permit.
Mr Dehbashi was held by Australia in relation to allegations he had evaded US sanctions against Iran in 2008 by exporting American equipment for detecting stealth military equipment to the country.
The exchange has landed the Morrison government in the middle of diplomatic tensions between the US and Iran after President Donald Trump last year exited the nuclear deal to limit Iran's nuclear program that had been struck by his predecessor Barack Obama in 2015.
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Mr Afshar,who consults for companies looking to do business in Iran,said unlike in other areas of international relations where Australia is a small player,it had influence in both Tehran and Washington.
"It is an opportunity that they ought not to miss,"he said."I do urge them to use that cache to reach for the normalisation of relations between Tehran and the United States."
The barrister said he did not know whether there had been a formal prisoner swap involving Mr Dehbashi,but added that"it seems to be connected at least indirectly"and said he"would be surprised if the two countries were not talking about these things".