Pak Sahafat – The American newspaper New York Times claimed an agreement between Iran and the United States on the exchange of prisoners after CNN reported the transfer of four prisoners with dual Iranian-American citizenships from Evin prison to a hotel.
According to Pak Sahafat News Agency, the New York Times announced that the United States and Iran have reached an agreement according to which Tehran will release five American prisoners in exchange for Tehran’s access to $6 billion of its frozen assets for humanitarian purposes and the release of several Iranians imprisoned by the United States.
The New York Times wrote: According to several officials familiar with this agreement, the United States and Iran have reached an agreement to release five Americans imprisoned in Iran in exchange for several Iranians, and finally Iran will have access to its oil revenue of about 6 billion dollars.
According to the lawyer of one of the American prisoners, after more than two years of silent negotiations between Iran and the United States, Tehran put five Iranian American citizens under house arrest.
Jared Genser, the lawyer of one of these prisoners, announced: On Thursday, four dual-citizen prisoners were transferred from Evin prison to a hotel in Tehran and will be kept there for a few weeks until they are allowed to board the plane.
Another American female prisoner had already been placed under house arrest, according to several people familiar with the deal. Genser said the Americans were told they would be under the care of Iranian officials at the hotel.
Biden administration officials declined to comment or confirm details about what Iran will receive. However, people familiar with the agreement said that once the Americans are allowed to return to the United States, the Biden administration will release a number of Iranian citizens who have been imprisoned for violating Iran sanctions.
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According to informed sources, the US will also transfer nearly 6 billion dollars of Iranian assets in South Korea to an account in the Central Bank of Qatar. They added that this account is controlled and regulated by the Qatari government so that Iran can only use it for humanitarian purposes such as medicine and food.
The American CNN news channel, citing the legal advisor of one of the dual-citizen prisoners in Iran, announced that four dual-citizen prisoners were transferred from Evin prison to house arrest in a hotel.
American CNN news channel announced: According to the statements of a lawyer, four Americans who were illegally detained in Iran have now been released from Evin prison and placed under house arrest. This is a hopeful sign of their release after years of imprisonment.
Christian Amanpour, the famous host of CNN, quoted Jared Genser, Siamak Namazi’s legal advisor, as saying: “The transfer of the American hostages from Evin prison by Iran to house arrest is an important development.” Although I hope this is the first step to their eventual release, this is at best the beginning of the end and nothing more.”
CNN reported that Ganser, who was cautious about commenting, added: “There are no guarantees about what happens next.”
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran had said about the exchange of prisoners between Iran and the United States: The exchange of prisoners is a humanitarian issue and we had indirect talks with the American side on this issue since last year.
On August 15, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanani told reporters about Mr. Bagheri’s visit to Muscat and indirect negotiations with the United States for a prisoner exchange: We are pursuing important issues related to Oman’s role in the political, economic and consular fields, and due to their importance, these issues require constant consultation, discussion and exchange of views. In this framework, mutual trips between Tehran and Muscat are carried out at different levels. Mr. Bagheri’s trip has been carried out in the same framework of diplomatic dynamics and focusing on important bilateral, regional and international issues between the two countries.
The spokesperson of Iran’s Foreign Ministry stated: We consider the issue of prisoner exchange as a humanitarian issue, and the mediation dialogue with the American side to create a solution for the exchange of prisoners continues. This issue is one of the current and ongoing issues between the two sides, and in this field, the Omani government has its own role to play.