A mourner holds a picture of senior Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad, Iraq, on Jan. 4, 2020. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)

An Iranian scientist returned home on Monday after his release from a US jail in what state media said was a prisoner exchange Tehran hopes can be repeated between the arch-foes.

Majid Taheri - an Iranian-American who had been working at a clinic in Tampa, Florida - had been detained in the US for 16 months.

Taheri was freed on Thursday as Iran released US Navy veteran Michael White, who had been detained in the Islamic republic since he was arrested in July 2018.

Upon his arrival at Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport, Taheri was greeted by deputy foreign minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari.

State media published pictures of the pair speaking to journalists.

"I hope to see the release of [other Iranians imprisoned abroad] in the near future," Ansari was quoted as saying by ISNA news agency, adding that his ministry would do its best to achieve this.

Ansari said the scientist was freed after months of efforts by the ministry in coordination with Switzerland, whose embassy in Tehran handles US interests.

Taheri for his part thanked Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

"I thank the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and dear officials, including Mr. Zarif, who worked hard, and other officials who took months to help release me, as an Iranian physician accused of circumventing US sanctions on medicine," Taheri was quoted as saying in a statement.

He was the second scientist to have returned to Iran from the US in the past week, after Cyrus Asgari flew home on Wednesday.

A US federal judge issued an order to free Taheri on time served.

AFP