(CNN) Amir Hekmati, one of five Americans released by Iran, arrived home in Michigan on Thursday afternoon amid the applause and cheers of supporters. "It's great to be back in Flint, my hometown," he told reporters moments after stepping out of a plane at Bishop International Airport. "I love this city. I love its people. They've been so good to me and my family and we're very grateful." Hekmati was detained in 2011, weeks after arriving in Iran to visit his grandmother, according to his family's website. The former Marine infantryman and Arabic and Persian linguist was accused of espionage and other charges in 2012.Christian pastor Saeed Abedini greeted in North CarolinaAmir Hekmati, one of the five Americans released by Iran, arrives home in Michigan"It's been a very long road," Hekmati says
Abedini had an emotional reunion with loved ones Thursday afternoon in Asheville, _.