Homa Hoodfar, 65, is a teacher at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, and an expert on gender and Islam. TEHRAN, Iran — A Canadian-Iranian retired professor was released from prison on "humanitarian grounds" and flown out of Iran on Monday, Iran's state-run news agency said, ending her months of detention alongside other dual nationals swept up by hard-liners in the security services. He said Hoodfar had left the Islamic Republic and was traveling to Canada via the Gulf Arab state of Oman. Oman confirmed it had arranged for a royal air force plane to fly Hoodfar to Muscat on her way to Canada, heeding a Canadian request to help in her release, state news agency ONA quoted a Foreign Ministry statement as saying. Earlier this year, in a controversial deal, the United States and Iran swapped prisoners and money in exchange for the release of the Washington Post correspondent, Jason Rezaian, and three other Iranian-Americans. “They understand that cases like these impede more productive relations.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Canadian counterpart Stephane Dion met last week during the annual U.N. General Assembly in New York for the first time since Tehran and Ottawa severed relations four years ago. Canada shut its embassy in Iran and expelled all Iranian diplomats in Canada in 2012 after accusing Tehran of posing the biggest threat to global security, mainly over its nuclear program and military assistance to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Since striking a deal with world powers last year under which it curbed its nuclear activity in exchange for sanctions relief, pragmatist Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has sought to mend ties with the West to improve the economy.
Iran releases Canadian-Iranian sociocultural anthropologist Homa Hoodfar, who had been held since June, as the countries begin talks on restoration of diplomatic ties.