Yes, I really don't understand moves like this. With Israel poised to attack Iran's nuclear facilities, and perhaps start an all out air war with them, you would think Iran would want to gain some good will from the international community... I would just write it off as a country run by madmen that are not rational actors, but any number of other madmen have played things better. I wonder what the regime wants for freeing him, maybe they just want too much.

This is not a rational assessment of Iran's rulers. The Iranian regime doesn't care about international good will. They care about power, and geopolitical advantage. They have been exporting terror to neighboring states for 3 decades through Hezbollah and other organizations. They have been involved in a proxy war with Israel for ages. They have recently been working as fast as possible to acquire home grown nuclear weapons, and the ICBMs to deliver them anywhere.

The Iranian regime doesn't care about world sentiment or about the Iranian people. They care about holding on to power and furthering their narrow ideological beliefs.