The Biden administration told Congress on Monday that it had agreed to liquidate about $6 billion in Iranian assets in exchange for the release of five Americans held for years by the theocratic Tehran government.
The deal, signed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken late last week, also calls for the release of five unidentified Iranian nationals held by the US.
Four out of five American detainees were transferred to house arrest last month from Iran’s notorious Evin prison, in what the White House hailed as a tentative first step as negotiations conclude. The fifth prisoner is already under house arrest.
Emad Shargi is one of five US citizens imprisoned in Iran. Shargi Family Results
The Associated Press, citing people familiar with the negotiations, reported that the US detainees are expected to be released as soon as next week.
Human rights lawyer Jared Genser has identified three of the five hostages at the time as Siamak Namazi, businessman Emad Shargi, and environmentalist Morad Tahbaz. The identities of the fourth and fifth have not yet been made public.
Namazi is one of several US citizens held for years by the theocratic Tehran government. Family distribution
Namazi was arrested in 2015, while British-American Sharghi and Tahbaz were arrested in 2018. All received 10-year prison terms on trumped-up espionage charges.
The timing of the announcement that $6 billion will be transferred to Iran, a major sponsor of terrorism in the Middle East and beyond, on the 22nd anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is likely to spark outrage from Republicans and conservatives. .
Morad Tahbaz is one of five US citizens imprisoned in Tehran. Family distribution
The money will be exchanged by banks in Europe, Asia and the Middle East and transferred to an account in Qatar’s central bank, where it is intended to be used to buy humanitarian goods such as food and medicine amid ongoing US sanctions.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
