Five Americans who have been detained in Iran were released on Monday in exchange for the Biden administration granting clemency to five Iranians and moving $6 billion in a restricted Iranian account, the White House announced.
Five American citizens wrongfully imprisoned and two family members who have been banned from traveling from Iran boarded a Qatari plane en route for Doha early on Monday, according to a senior administration official. They will then travel to Washington, D.C. to reunite with families.
The citizens include Siamak Namazi, Morad Tahbaz and Emad Shargi and two unidentified Americans who have wished to remain private. Also, the mother of Namazi and the wife of Tahbaz, both of whom have not been able to leave Iran, will be on the plane.
Five Iranians who were convicted with nonviolent crimes will be freed in the exchange, the official said. Two of the Iranians who do not have legal status in the U.S. will return to Doha. These prisoners are Kaveh Lotfolah Afrasiabi, Mehrdad Ansari, Amin Hasanzadeh, Reza Sarhangpour Kafrani and Kambiz Attar Kashani.
The U.S is also moving $6 billion of Iranian funds frozen in South Korea to a Qatari bank as part of the deal. The funds will be available for Iran on a limited use and only for humanitarian transactions such as food, medicine and agricultural products.
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#BREAKING: White House announces prisoner exchange with Iran https://t.co/DV4TDLSXWh pic.twitter.com/9jP9qL4F69
— The Hill (@thehill) September 18, 2023
Five Americans who have been detained in Iran were released in exchange for the Biden administration granting clemency to five Iranians and moving $6 billion in a restricted Iranian account, the White House announced. https://t.co/W7p2mhKWbw pic.twitter.com/cFZQErZOi8
— The Hill (@thehill) September 18, 2023
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