that's all for tonight. don't forget to tune in to tonight's democratic debate. our coverage will begin on msnbc and nbcnews.com. tune in a few minutes before 9:00, our i'll be there, lester and andrea, if it's sunday, it's "meet the press." and a good sunday to you. i'm riched louie at msnbc headquarters in new york. we continue this hour with more news. for first time since 2014, "washington post" reporter jason rezaian is a free man and out of iran. he and three other americans released in a prisoner swap yesterday are now in geneva. landing there just hours ago. a fifth american released separately left iran yesterday. the white house credits smart and tireless diplomacy for their release with the iran nuclear deal now in full effect. from the white house today president obama saying while this progress is not perfect, it potentially opens the door to further diplomatic breakthroughs. >> the nuclear deal was never

intended to resolve all of our differences with iran, but still engaging directly with the iranian government on a sustained basis for first time in decades has created a unique opportunity, a window, to try to resolve important issues. also just in recent hours, the united states announcing new sanctions targeting over a dozen entities and viindividuals in in over recent missile tests. in addition to that, a new announcement of a $1.7 billion sum going to iran from the united states over a decades' long dispute over iranian assets frozen by the u.s. nbc's ron allen joins me now from the white house for more on president obama's reaction, and, ron, let's start with that, and that is the president coming out today and basically taking that victory lap that so many in the diplomatic circles have been saying has been quite an accomplishment over this weekend. >> reporter: indeed. the president was emphasizing

there have been multiple benefits that have come from this diplomacy this, opening to iran, not just the nuclear deal, not just the freeing of the five americans who were held in iran, but also a process where those american sailors who were being held a few days ago, where they were released without it becoming a major incident. now the question is what more might there be going forward, and the obvious question and the obvious issue is the war in syria where iran is very involved but on the opposite side from america, and, therefore, involved in the fight against isis where iran could be on the same side as america. so the question was posed to the senior administration officials here s that a possibility? is that what you're looking at? and i think the answer to that basically is time will tell. another interesting develop today is that the united states slapped more sanctions on iran because of those two ballistic missile tests you refer to, one in october and one in december.

those sanctions go on top of other sanctions that are already in place, and the administration was trying to make the point that even though the nuclear sanctions have been removed, iran still faces some obstacles doing business because of its missile program, because of its violations of human rights, and it's support for terrorism. those issues are still on the table going forward. richard? >> ron, in addition to that, what of the $1.7 billion payment and the details behind that? how far does that go back? what's the relationship to this again? >> reporter: it goes back to the early 1980s, late 1970s when there was a lot of business being done between the united states government and the iranian government and individuals. that starts with a sum of some $400 million that the iranians had paid to the united states to buy military equipment. and when diplomatic relations stopped, all that got frozen. there's now a tribunal in the hague in the netherlands that's been trying to sort out these conflicting claims between the united states and iran ov not just that pool of money, but

many other pools of money, millions and billions of dollars, if you will. so in the settlement, the iranians got that $400 million plus interest which was about $1.3 billion over the last 30 years or so. the united states agreed to that saying that had they not agreed to that, the tribunal might have ruled in iran's favor and the sum that the united states would have been liable for could have been even higher than the $1.7 billion you referred to. so that was also settled as another thing that happened during the course of the past few months that the administration is saying is or are the benefits of diplomacy. >> nbc's ron allen with the latest developments just within the recent hours there at the white house. as always, thank you so much, ron. we are in tehran with the latest on the iran deal. aly, in addition to that you heard the reporting coming from ron allen about the latest developments and that is the new sanctions affecting over a dozen entities and individuals.

in addition to that, that $1.7 billion that the president said in so many words they just needed to get past. any reaction there in tehran from these two new developments today? >> reporter: well, richard, a lot of reaction about the deal being done here. obviously iranians were very happy about it. not a lot of reaction about the missile sanctions, but i don't think it was going to come as a big surprise to iran's ruling establishment. there were reports here that i can't confirm that there were talks between the iranian foreign ministry, secretary kerry saying -- asking them not to impose the sanctions because it could complicate the release of the prisoners. that's not confirmed but these were some reports we were hearing in iran, so i don't think it came as a big surprise to the iranians. there was a lot of noise that sanctions would be imposed when they had done this test in october and november, but iranians have always been very, very vociferous about the fact that it's their right to test missiles. it's a part of iran's defense mechanism, and they're not going to scale that back in any way.

in fact, as soon as the nuclear deal was done, iran bolstered its missile program. now, it's true that president rouhani has been doing a lot of diplomatic outreaches trying to mend fences with the international community, but he's not in charge of the missile program. the revolutionary guard is, and they answer to the supreme leader, and they make the decisions on iran's strategic security interests. so as far as iran is concerned, i think they're going to still forge ahead with the missile programs and they're not going to let any sanctions divert them from that. talking about the $1.7 billion that was released with interest, initially $400 million. there hasn't been any talk of that here in iran today, but that's something the iranians have been saying they want back for a very long time. it has nothing to do with the frozen assets over the nuclear program. as ron mentioned, this goes back to 1979 when iran and america were good friends, when iran was america's closest ally in the

region. things have obviously changed a lot since that time, and that's one of the issues that worries the u.s.'s persian gulf allies in the region. they're worried iran might reset its relationship with america the way it was before the revolution, but i think we're still a very long way off from that. richard? >> ali, just what has happened in the last 48 hours reminding us not only of the recent history but the old history that you were just giving us some perspective on between the united states and iran. before we leave you, we're now 24 hours later. this as you knock on a new monday just ahead of you in about 30 minutes or so. what were the headlines today in the sunday papers about what happened with the prisoner swap as well as the iaea saying iran is good? >> reporter: very little in the papers about the prisoner swap because it was still going on late last night, so it didn't

reach print today, but it was mentioned in state media, not a very big deal made about it. in the past when we've seen prisoners released here, they've brought them out in front of state media, made a statement. none of that happened. they were rushed out of the country. no press briefing with official media here. not a lot about it in the newspapers. as far as the nuclear deal is concerned, there was a lot of talk about that here. the government here had really built that up. they're saying this was a triumphant day for iran and president rouhani has been making speeches on state tv last night, this morning, saying that the chains of sanctions have been broken and this is a new golden era for iran, and he's looking forward to large amount of foreign investment in the country. >> 11:30 p.m. sunday in tehran. thank you so much. our nbc correspondent reporting for us. i want to turn to more analysis on the nuclear deal with iran. joining us from washington,

hillary man-leveret, author of "going to tehran: why america must accept the islamic republic of iran" and in if the worft. w texas, danny colonelson, former deputy director of the fbi. as we look at what has happened so far today, the question that many are saying as they look at the deal is what did the iaea investigate and sign off on and is there a concern going forward when we look at the homeland and the security related to it? >> i think this is a very, very enigmatic situation here. i was in the business of rescuing hostages and it's always a great thing to get them back and it's good for the families and individuals, but this doesn't change the character of iran. they are in the business of taking hostages. they're in the business of sponsoring terrorism in the middle east and other places, and i'm concerned that this does not teach them any kind of a

lesson about hostage taking. they benefit from this type of thing, and we have -- this is a very, very complicated situation with the revolutionary guard running one part of the country and the leaders running another part. at least it appears to be that way. and trying to figure out what is going on here. i don't see iran changing what they're doing. i think that in some ways they've benefited greatly by this prisoner exchange, if that's what we're going to call it, but i think it's business as usual to these guys. but, again, we got hostages back. that's a great thing. it's a great thing for the families, a great thing for our country, too. it's just a giant enigma to me and i'm knotts sure we fully understand the ramifications. >> hillary, to you on this, the new details within the recent hours that not only ron allen as well as ali was filling us in on. there was a payment with a sum total of $1.7 billion, goes back

decades. there's that new development. in addition to that we have more than a dozen new sanctions. put into perspective for us those new sanctions. i think it's 11 plus 5, some 16 new sanctions that were announced today. are they even in comparison to that 159-page deal that just got, if you will, ratified because the iaea said, iran, you're okay. >> no. the new sanctions that were announced will essentially put more sanctions on those iranian entities that are already sanctioned because of their involvement in the ballistic missile program. it reminds the iranian that is the united states continues to have and will continue to use this lever of pressure which is a problematic aspect. i would try to take the conversation maybe in another angle from my colleague in texas, which is that there are two ways you can look at this. you can look at iran as a terror-supporting suicide nation that's hell bent on destruction

of itself, the region, and even the world or look at it in a way that president nixon and then-secretary of state henry kissinger looked at china, as this incredibly important, albeit problematic country, a civilizational state with an enormous population sitting on an enormous endowment of hydrocarbons and see it as a rising power as nixon and kissinger saw president. president obama could be seeing and i think in some ways sees iran. then the trick is not to find how many more sanctions to impose, but to try to find out how many ways you can hook the united states into agreement after agreement after agreement with iran so that we slowly but surely realign the relationship and allow the united states to partner with iran where it's in our interests and to resolve our differences where we can. to me that is the imperative challenge and opportunity president obama has in his last year in office. whether he can do a nixon to

china type of approach and really bring the united states into a new relationship in the middle east and with the muslim world. it is an absolutely imperative opportunity in my view for him to seize and we'll just have to see how it goes. >> danny, i want to move to what you were discussing, and that is your understanding of the process of those who have been held. and we have some prisoners that are now in -- on their way to the united states. three of which landed there in switzerland. what might be some of your concerns thinking of their well-being as they reintegrate back into u.s. and western culture here after being held in iran? >> too much exposure to the media probably a first. i have to think these people are not in the best of health. to be in an iranian prison is probably one of the worst things you could ever endure, and there needs to be somebody appointed there that will let the media talk to them as they can, but they need privacy. they need medical help. they need psychological

counseling. they need to be with their families and you can wear people out by putting them in front of the media too much, and if i was working this case or had something to do with it, i would be very guarded in what kind of exposure i gave to them and their well fair is very important. it's even more important than the news of what happened there. that will all come out ultimately, but it should come out a little slower probably than those of us who are watching it would like to see. >> and you were mentioning -- back to the points you were making, there's a lot of moving parts if i were to put a headline behind what you just said. the timing of the new announcements, the timing of what was announced yesterday, the timing of even weeks and months before. what does this tell you about the approach of this administration in dealing with iran and when we talk about international security? >> well, you know, when president obama first ran for office in 2008, this was one of his main points to distinguish himself not only from his republican challenger, john mccain, but from his democratic primary challenger hillary clinton, that he would deal with our adversaries in a

fundamentally different way. he wouldn't bomb his way out of every problem. he would negotiate. he would seek conflict resolution. he would use dialogue and strategically grounded diplomacy. strategically grounded diplomacy is not a straight line. it's not like a bomb that you can just set on a target and pretend your problems are solved. it actually follows various steps and goes through various ups and downs. i think we have seen precisely that. as secretary kerry and president obama have tried to pursue strategically grounded diplomacy with not some pushover two-bit country but with an incredibly important rising power in the middle east in the muslim world, the islamic republic of iran. i think that's what we're seeing. we're seeing the necessary ups and downs of strategically grounded diplomacy that's paying off for the united states. >> hillary man leverett and danny cowlson, thank you for joining us. still to come, democrats set to square off in their first debate of 2016.

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we have breaking news to tell you about. "the washington post" reporting the four americans released in a prisoner swap with iran, three of which have now arrived in germany. the second stop on their way back to america. again, there were four involved in that prisoner swap. a fifth not related to that. the news coming in from "the washington post" that three of the four now arriving. again, that's the new news according to "the washington post" reporting again that they have arrived in germany. we continue to watch that. now, the latest developments in iran also related to this will likely be one of the hotly

contested issues in the democratic debate in south carolina. for more on how the news will affect tonight's debate, we're joined by nbc's kristin welker. kristin? >> hey there, richard. first, i just want to tell you the excitement and anticipation is building for tonight's debate. you can see all these bernie sanders/hillary clinton supporters. they have gathered here. they have their tickets. they're waiting to get inside. the stakes could not be higher tonight, richard, as you know. we're just 15 days away from the iowa caucuses. as you point out, iran will likely be on the agenda tonight. secretary clinton and bernie sanders have already weighed in earlier today on the sunday shows. they're very fired up, by the way. it's hard to concentrate, but secretary clinton saying she supports the deal and underscores the fact that diplomacy can work but she took a harder line than bernie sanders. she called again for sanctions given iran's ballistic missile program. senator sanders not as firm but

said he supports the deal, praised the fact that president obama, the obama administration, was able to bring those five americans home. so this is obviously something that both democratic candidates are celebrating. their differences are minuscule in terms of the iran nuclear deal. however, they will likely continue to draw sharp distinctions. bernie sanders will try to point out that secretary clinton a little more hawkish than him when it comes to foreign policy. richard? >> 25 percentage points separating them as you so well know in the latest nbc news/"wall street journal" poll. very interestingly behind you very zestful group. in the conversations that you have had with these zestful individuals, anything you can take away, that you can tell us between those two support sanders versus martin o'malley versus hillary clinton? >> reporter: well, i think that everyone is looking forward to what will likely be the most contentious debate yet, and they're looking for their candidate to draw sharp

distinctions over issues like health care and guns. these are some of the hot topics that we have heard about on the campaign trail. they were hot topics earlier today on the sunday shows. so i think they'll be what really defines this debate. as you say, richard, the polls are razor tight in new hampshire, in iowa. so hillary clinton has a big lead nationally but it gets tighter in these early voting states and that's where this race is really unfolding. >> kristin welker in south carolina. looking forward to that debate tonight starting just about over 5 1/2 hours. lester holt as well as andrea mitchell, kristin welker there, too. thank you so much, kristin. helping us take a closer look at the debate from charleston, south carolina, thank you, kristin welker. let's bring in gabe, a political reporter for politico. we got a sense of what's in the leadup to the debate tonight. when you look at how the candidates have been discussing

iran, what do you expect the points to be made? what are the points that, for instance, that the hillary clinton campaign will make bringing in this latest news given that she served for so many years as secretary of state herself leading up to and laying the foundation to perhaps these deals that we've seen, including the one that was this weekend? gabe, can you hear me? >> reporter: hi, yes. >> okay. gabe, i'll repeat the question to you. did you hear me? >> reporter: yes, i can hear you. sorry about that. >> no problems at all. so the question to you here, gabe, is how do you think the candidates will discuss iran? for instance, hillary clinton being the former secretary of state, how might she leverage these developments to her benefit? >> reporter: well, absolutely. she's going to rely very heavily on the fact that she has a lot of experience in the foreign policy realm, and senator sanders does not. there are big differences between them on foreign policy. sanders often points out that

secretary clinton voted to authorize the iraq war. what you will see tonight is likely secretary clinton making the case that she was involved in the early negotiations on the iran deal and basically saying to the voters, i know this stuff. i have been there from day one. >> how might bernie sanders turn this to his advantage, some of those who are in the sanders camp might say, look, in the short amount of time that the new secretary of state has been in that position, has gotten so much done, and might he put into question the amount of accomplishments that the secretary of state -- former secretary of state hillary clinton had in her timing? >> reporter: yeah. he hasn't been doing a ton of questioning of her own record as secretary of state though he does sometimes say things about how things are not exactly awesome while she was in office. but it's unlikely he will point to the iran deal specifically as a failure of hers. likely, he will say this isn't really your doing, hillary. he will maybe give credit to secretary kerry and the president. you know, we should look to see him hug the president pretty

closely to try to prove to democratic voters he is in line with president obama who remains very popular, particularly among democrats here in south carolina. >> so the topic here of foreign policy, international security, has certainly resonated from a critical point -- standpoint coming from the right to the left. in this case today, given that the white house and the administration has been doing the victory lap as i mentioned earlier, might this then invigorate at least on the left the discussion of international security and foreign policy to a higher level than perhaps we have seen in previous debates? >> it's certainly possible, but i think it's important to remember both of the candidates are expecting to come into this debate to fight about a number of domestic policy issues from gun reform to wall street. so while there is likely to be some disagreement about iran, the fact remains that for the most part they agree on iran and they agree on foreign policy issues. so secretary clinton may rely

heavily on the experience argument, but in terms of the actual points of implementation, it would be a surprise if we saw them really delve into their deep disagreements on every single point of the deal itself, particularly since all the information isn't yet out there. >> as you probably heard, kristin was standing very close to where you're at right now, was mentioning how important in the early states where the votes are going to be happening in 15 days in iowa, we have new hampshire, south carolina, what's the sense there in south carolina of what they're looking at? is it going to be issues of health care and gun rights that have been debated in the last week between these candidates? >> reporter: absolutely. i think it would be safe to say that gun control is going to be front and center tonight. you know, the mother emmanuel church where there was a shooting in june is actually just one block from the debate. we should expect to see that come up. and secretary clinton's allies have suggested she'll bring up the charleston loophole which senator sanders voted for which secretary clinton said helped facilitate that shooting.

so there are some differences on gun control and it's an issue that's particularly important to democrats here. we will also see them discuss wall street reform. that's been an issue this morning. and health care as well. senator sanders stands strongly with his idea of a single payer system. >> you're in an exciting place today. thank you so much, gabe. again, the debate will be happening on nbc 9:00 p.m. eastern time tonight. do not miss that on, again, nbc. the state department has confirmed three of the american prisoners released from iran have now arrived in germany. their next step before heading home. we'll have a live report coming up. with chantix. i decided to take chantix to shut everybody else up about me quitting smoking. i was going to give it a try, but i didn't think it was going to really happen. after one week of chantix, i knew i could quit. along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. chantix definitely helped reduce my urge to smoke.

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or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. raise your expectations. ask your gastroenterologist about humira. with humira, control is possible. and just in to msnbc, we just have learned that three of the americans freed from detention have now arrived in germany. nbc's kira simmons is in landstuhl, germany, with the latest. kier, any signs of this new news there? >> reporter: we believe they are

inside the u.s. base behind me here. one of those, jason rezaian, "the washington post" cornered, is among the three. we have spoke ton some of his senior management from "the washington post" who have come here to greet him. we are told by them that the three will be taken to a hospital. they will undergo medical checks, psychological evaluation, of course, because the priority will be to understand the kinds of damage that they may have suffered, not just physical but also perhaps psychological from this long internment in iran. it follows these stunning scenes in switzerland where we saw them touch down at an air base there and walk onto the tarmac, their first taste of freedom, if you like. kind of like cold war scenes, richard. a prisoner exchange because at the same time as you know seven iranians have been freed by the

u.s. some of those walking free in texas. so momentous events this weekend following that historic nuclear deal, and tonight we are told three of those u.s. prisoners freed by iran are here in germany. how long they will be here for, we do not know. plainly, it will take some time just to spend some time with them, and, two, being here gives them a chance just to breathe for a moment before they head home and the inevitable spotlight that will be on them when they get there. >> keir, how did they look and what was the last time we saw in real time or in a news development within the day that u.s. prisoners were being released in a swap, no doubt. but how did they look and what about number four? >> reporter: you know, we didn't get a close look at them. we do know that some of them are with members of their family. other family are back in the u.s. waiting to greet them

there. good question, what about number four. by that i suspect you mean one of the individuals who is understood chose to stay in iran. u.s. officials saying that is his choice, he's free to do that. it is a mystery why he chose to do that, but perhaps it is to do with the fact there will be so much attention, he simply didn't want to suffer that kind of attention, if you like. we only knew he was imprisoned in iran just in recent days when this deal was announced. another one of the five who have been released has made his own way ahead of the others. so there's just three here now, and they must be really breathing a sigh of relief tonight, richard. >> with that breaking news for us, keir simmons in germany. three of the u.s. prisoners where he is at in landstuhl, germany. one still remains in iran. thank you so much. earlier today president obama spoke about this deal to free the u.s. prisoners. here is the president in his own words.

>> several americans unjustly detained by iran are finally coming home. in some cases these americans faced years of continued detention. i have met with some of their families. i have seen their anguish, how they ache for their sons and husbands. i gave these families my word, i made a vow that we would do everything in our power to win the release of their loved ones, and we have been tireless. on the sidelines of the nuclear negotiations, our diplomats at the highest level, including secretary kerry, used every meeting to push iran to release our americans. i did so myself in my conversation with president rouhani. after the nuclear deal was completed, the discussions between our governments accelerated. yesterday these families finally got the news that they had been waiting for. jason rezaian is coming home. a courageous journalist for "the

washington post" who wrote about the daily lives and hopes of the iranian people. he's been held for a year and a half. he embodies the brave spirit that gives life to the freedom of the press. jason has already been reunited with his wife and mom. pastor saeed abedini is coming home, held for 3 1/2 years. his unyielding faith has inspired people around the world in the global fight to uphold freedom of religion, and now pastor abedini will return to his church and community in idaho. amir hekmati is coming home a former sergeant in the marine corps. he's been held for 4 1/2 years. today his parents and sisters are giving thanks in michigan. two other americans unjustly detained by iran have also been released.

matthew trevithick, an iranian who was in iran as a student. their cases are largely unknown to the world, but when americans are freed and reunited with their families, that's something we can all celebrate. we are united in welcoming home sons and brothers who in lonely prison cells endured an absolute nightmare. at long last they can stand tall and breathe deep the fresh air of freedom. as a nation, we face real challenges around the world and here at home. many of them will not be resolved quickly or easily. but today's progress, americans coming home, an iran that has rolled back its nuclear program and accepted unprecedented monitoring of that program, these things are a reminder of what we can achieve when we lead with strength and wisdom, with courage and resolve and patience. america can do and has done big

things when we work together. we can lead this world and make it safer and more secure for our children and our grandchildren for generations to come. >> president obama earlier today talking about the develops within the last 24 to 48 hours, and that is the release of those prisoners. the u.s. prisoners, five in the deal, four in relationship to seven from the united states where they were also released. and coming up, my conversation with sarah shourd, an american hiker who was once held in iran. her perspective. moving on, an american was one of two dozen people killed in an al qaeda attack in burkina faso yesterday. the state department confirming the death of 45-year-old mike rittering, a u.s. mish they're who worked with his wife's orphanage. he was the adoptive parent to two children from burkina faso. a statement read, quote, we mourn with the families of those

killed in the senseless acts of violence including michael james riddering, an american citizen who had devoted his life to working with the burkinabe people. another 56 were injured and at least 4 of the attackers died during the assaults. joining us from albany, new york, is malcolm nance, the author of "defeating isis." why would al qaeda target this hotel in burkina faso? >> if you look over the last sick months, richard, al qaeda has actually been trying to resurge its operations in the sub-saharan african region. they've carried out now three major hotel attacks. last august there was an attack on a hotel which housed u.n. personnel in mali. then we saw the one that took place in the capital of mali, and now this one.

they are going after two things. one, they're going after westerners where they congregate in these third-world countries. i have been there. it's not the most cosmopolitan city but they have pockets of westerners. two, it's the only tourist and external revenue apart from mining and other concessions, so they are attacking where the westerners are and making sure westerners don't feel safe. >> you were talking about al qaeda here, yet the headlines recently certainly have been about isis. what would you say is the strength of al qaeda today and we ask this question because of the siege that you bring up in mali, the siege we're talking about today in burkina faso. >> well, you know, people believe that isis and al qaeda are two entirely disparate organizations, and that's sort of true. al qaeda has always been built as a professional terrorist organization which was taking this march to the caliphate in

very slow steps with covert operational cells. isis has become this expeditionary warfare organization which takes large swaths of land and fills vacuums where there is chaos. isis is still maintaining certainly in north africa their small unit professional terrorist operations infrastructure. isis, on the other hand, in places like nigeria and libya, are trying to take entire regions of land. so for the most part what we're seeing -- we are seeing a competition between these two organizations. mark my words, there was just an attack in nigeria -- i'm sorry, somalia yesterday where shabaab, which is an al qaeda offshoot, carried out an attack on a kenyan base which killed as many as 100 soldiers and they've taken as many as 25 hostage. they are an al qaeda-backed organization that isis is trying to bring over to their side. so the subsa sha-saharan regions a place where you have two competing organizations.

>> thank you for your time, coming to us from albany, new york. appreciate it. some breaking news just into msnbc. we're just learning the state department saying they are aware of reports that american citizens are missing in iraq and are working with iraqi authorities to locate and recover these individuals. in part the statement coming from the state department saying they are aware of reports american citizens are missing. the safety and security of american citizens overseas is our highest priority. they're saying that just in part. just that news coming into us. if we get more information about these potentially missing americans in iraq, we'll have that for you here. now onto republican presidential candidates who are almost uniform in their response to the u.s. prisoners being released. they're happy they are out, but they hate the deal that got them out. but there is one notable exception, and it's not donald trump. dad, you can just drop me off right here. oh no, i'll take you up to the front of the school. that's where your friends are. seriously, it's, it's really fine. you don't want to be seen with your dad? no, it's..no..

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yesterday's prisoner exchange along with the nuclear deal between iran and the u.s.

is big news on the campaign trail no doubt, so much so that the republican candidates did stop blasting each other to criticize the administration's diplomatic effort. we have gabe from politico. good to see you again. the question is how are they going to leverage these developments over the weekend as they push forward to try to get the primary -- get through the primaries and get the nomination? >> reporter: well, i think what you'll see is a lot of the republican candidates trying to go harder and harder on this iran deal, trying to hit president obama and hillary clinton. a lot of them will be tying them together trying to make the case they are the best person to go up against secretary clinton and they will be criticizing the deal saying it shows as chris christie said today that president obama doesn't know what he's doing. what they'll be doing is trying to outflank each other to the right most likely. >> when you look at senator rand paul, he was the one republican here out of those that are gunning for the job here to

praise the prisoner swap today and the diplomacy efforts that have been involved along the way. will this help him move up? >> reporter: well, i think this is certainly the kind of thing that might help him appeal to his own voters and really try to energize them. he stands apart from the rest of the field on foreign policy issues often at least. he's someone who is a little bit less of an interventionist. it may be a play for him to try to get some of his own voters really energied before voting begins, but it's not the play that's going to get a lot of tea party types going. he might be trying to appeal to some independents in new hampshire who can vote in either primary and who may like what he has to say. >> as you were mentioning at the top of the segment, this would be perhaps an issue, the iran deal itself, that would help maybe in the general, not necessarily in the primaries as we're discussing them right now. but then, therefore, might it help those that are polling at the higher ends such as trump and cruz who are clearly aiming

their messages towards hillary clinton or bernie sanders? does it help them more than it helps those who are down further in the polls right now? >> reporter: yeah. i think what you will see is both of those guys, trump and cruz, will likely try to use this to say, i am particularly strong on foreign policy and we're going to need someone who is to go up against hillary clinton, who, as both of them have suggested, was the architect of president obama's foreign policy in the first term. they'll be making the case, if you go for them they will be the strongest in the general election and that's a stronger pitch for them to be able to make than some of the people who are further down who will just try to outflank each other to get the attention on this issue. >> when you add in the prisoner swap and that's been so much good news to families in the united states, those five that are now either on their way or have been released by iran, does that to some degree reduce the

strength of the criticism of the iran deal as the two issues start to conflate? >> reporter: you know, it does make the issue a little more difficult to talk about because what they're often saying is it's great that we got these prisoners back, but at what cost? so it does make it a little bit tougher for them to make this case, you know, in one fell swoop. that said, some of them are trying to skate around the issue in some ways. you saw ted cruz's initial response to the news of the prisoner release was it's great these guys are coming back, but, of course, we have to look at the whole deal, not just this release. >> gabe, thank you so much from politico. i appreciate your time today. >> reporter: thank you. more breaking news out ever germany. this is the first picture of "washington post" reporter jason rezaian. keir simmons was saying they moved so quickly out of the planes, this is one of the four prisoners in the prisoner swap related to the deal that happened over the weekend. so, again, this first picture,

the picture uploaded by the special envoy, brett mcgurk, and we'll be watching as they make their way from landstuhl, germany, three of the four related to the prisoner swap again we're learning this hour not in germany. and that's their second stop after leaving iran. coming up, one woman who has special insight into what these u.s. prisoners freed from iran are facing. a conversation with sarah shourd, one of the hikers who endured her own detainment in that country. [ cough ]

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you see a picture here now for a special envoy brett mcgurk shaking hands there and also posting this picture, and you can see what it says there. thrilled to see jason rezaian

safely in geneva after 18 months of unjust imprisonment in iran and this just coming in because the news we're getting is three of the four prisoners related to the deal also arriving in land skull, germany. we wanted to share that picture with you as we follow the trip of jason rezaian and the two others who are making their way back. 2009, shane bow art and joshua fatt fattal, and i had the chance to speak with sarah earlier today and this is what she told me about her experience vis-a-vis the news that has happened over the weekend. >> i mean, the overwhelming feeling that i connect to right now is just the unbelievably, you know, profound exhilaration they're experiencing now, to be leaving the prison, to be leaving iran and to be reunited with their families. there are just no words to describe how incredible it is. yesterday i woke up with tears

of joy because these men, amir, saeed, jason, and i feel like i know them, they've all endured long periods of solitary confinement. i was in solitary confinement for over a year and it takes a heavy toll psychologically, physically and this is a huge set for them and they still have a long way to go to recover and peck up their lives for them. >> what would be your piece of advice for that long way to go, that walk you are talking about, that journey? >> um, i mean, it's different for everyone, but i think that all of them are really good people. they didn't deserve this, and they're part of something, you know, unfortunately they're a victim of very misguided policy. decades of animosity on both sides and this moment really, the iranian government and the american government have been forced to act accountably, to use diplomacy and it's an

incredibly hopeful, beautiful moment, and i feel like that's going to help them to ride that wave and see that we are actually going in a much better direction, but at the same time once all of that exhilaration fades, it hits you very hard that being alone that long, having no certainty whatsoever. not knowing if you'll ever see your family again or if you'll ever be on free soil is something that people can carry around with them for the rest of their lives and you have to take that seriously, your recovery and do whatever it is that you need to to heal. everyone is different. >> what would you say based on your experience would be the most difficult for them in their recovery in the coming months? >> everyone -- there is so much demand upon you for your attention, for your time. i mean, from family to friends and it's wonderful to be with family and friends, but i think it's especially important to stay in touch with what you need

and sometimes you need to be alone. sometimes you need to get away and, you know, just -- like i said, it's different for everyone, but close the door and just think, and it's really important to have people to talk to that understand what you've been through so that you don't feel alienated. a lot of people come out particularly from solitary confinement because it's a psychological torture and the u.n. has called it torture and it takes a toll on your brain. science has shown that it can cause permanent brain damage and you look fine from the outside, and i know towards the end for shane, josh and i we were also fed differently and toward the end they gave us extra food and they wanted to make sure we came out looking and all of these clothes when i came out of prison and they want you to look okay because the iranian government wants people to think that they treated these

prisoners humanely and there isn't anything humane about what they endured and nothing just about this. the deep wounds are the hardest to heal. they're invisible and there's no -- there's no easy remedy. >> sarah shourd who is a former iranian prisoner sharing her experience after being released again, based on the latest developments on the story. the three americans freed from iran arrive in germany. a live report next. stick around. jublia is a prescription medicine... ...used to treat toenail fungus. use jublia as instructed by your doctor. jublia is workin' it! most common side effects include... ...ingrown toenail, application site redness,... ...itching, swelling, burning... ...or stinging, blisters, and pain. oh!! fight it! with jublia! now that's a red carpet moment! ask your doctor if jublia is right for you. visit our website for savings on larger size. marie callender's turkey pot pie staa rich, flavorful gravy.in and a crust made from scratch. because she knows that when it's cold outside,

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sophistication... ...redefined. introducing the all-new lexus rx and rx hybrid. agile handling. available 12.3-inch navigation screen and panorama glass roof. never has luxury been this expressive. this is the pursuit of perfection. i'm richard lui. here at the msnbc headquarters we are seeing first photo of jason rezaian, one of four americans released yesterday in the prisoner swap with iran. this picture uploaded by special envoy brett mcgurk and this afternoon we learned three of the americans have arrived in germany. just this past hour, their second stop on their way back to the united states. you are looking at video right now of them landing earlier in geneva and today for the first time we heard fm