NEW YORK: The United States officially confirmed a prisoner swap with Iran on Monday, revealing that President Joe Biden had granted clemency to five Iranians who were either incarcerated or awaiting trial for non-violent offenses.
A US official disclosed that seven US citizens had departed Iran on a plane as part of the agreement. This group includes three Americans previously identified as Siamak Namazi, Morad Tahbaz, and Emad Sharqi. Additionally, two other individuals from the United States, who wished to remain anonymous, were also aboard the plane.
Notably, the passengers on the flight included Namazi’s mother and Sharqi’s wife, both of whom are US citizens. However, they had been barred from leaving Iran, despite not being imprisoned. All passengers on the plane share Iranian heritage and are regarded as Iranian citizens by Tehran, which does not recognize dual nationality.
The US official disclosed that President Biden, despite the political risks involved, had also enacted fresh sanctions targeting Iran’s intelligence ministry and former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. These sanctions were imposed in response to allegations of deception surrounding the disappearance of Bob Levinson, a former FBI agent who vanished in Iran under mysterious circumstances and is presumed to be deceased.
A senior US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, emphasized, “The United States will never give up on Bob Levinson’s case. We call on the Iranian regime to provide a full account of what happened to Bob Levinson.”
Levinson had been on a CIA mission when he traveled to the Iranian island of Kish. However, Iran has not acknowledged his arrest or detention.
Regarding the five Iranians who received clemency, the US official clarified that all of them had been charged or convicted of non-violent offenses. Two were serving sentences in prison, with one individual’s sentence set to conclude soon, while the other three were awaiting trial.
While Iran released the five unjustly held U.S. citizens, it has never accounted for the fate of Bob Levinson. Today, we sanctioned former Iranian president Ahmadinejad & Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security in an action to promote accountability for wrongful detentions.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) September 18, 2023
Prisoners Swap Agreement Between Iran and US
The successful release of these Americans represents a significant diplomatic achievement after years of intricate indirect negotiations between the United States and Iran. This development is the latest in a series of high-profile agreements negotiated by the Biden administration, aimed at securing the release of Americans wrongly detained in foreign countries, following similar releases from Russia and Venezuela.
Under the terms of the agreement between the United States and Iran, $6 billion in Iranian funds, previously held in restricted accounts in South Korea, were transferred to restricted accounts in banks.
Sources have informed CNN that these funds originated from authorized oil sales and were placed in accounts established during the Trump administration. The Biden administration has emphasized that these transferred funds can only be utilized by Iran for humanitarian purchases, with each transaction subject to monitoring by the US Treasury Department.
This comprehensive agreement, which has already faced criticism from Republicans, also encompasses the release of five Iranians held in US custody.
