How The Real World Works With Iran

Secretary of State John Kerry used negotiations to free Iran hostages — not bluster and prayer:

...But it wasn’t god that negotiated the release for the US: it was Brett McGurk, a senior State Department official who normally works on managing the anti-Islamic State coalition. He and his counterpart, an Iranian intelligence official, according to reports , worked through a channel that had been established in late 2014 and picked up steam after the nuclear deal was struck in July 2015.

And it wasn’t the prayers that got Rezaian and company home. It was a compromise. Yes, the US had to give up something it wanted – to pursue the various sanctions busters it let go to the fullest extent of the law – but the administration judged that bringing back American prisoners held abroad was more important...