The deal removes a point of friction between the US, which brands Tehran a sponsor of terrorism, and Iran, which calls Washington the ‘Great Satan’
19 September 2023 - 13:42
byAndrew Mills, Humeyra Pamuk and Parisa Hafezi
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Family members with US flags wait to greet freed American detainees released in a prisoner swap deal between US and Iran upon arriving at Davison Army Airfield at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, US, on September 19 2023. Picture: JONATHAN ERNST/REUTERS
Doha/New York — A plane carrying five Americans freed by Iran was on its way to the US on Tuesday, a day after they were swapped for five Iranians detained in the US and the unfreezing of $6bn in Iranian funds, in a rare deal between the arch foes.
It followed a carefully choreographed exchange, agreed on after months of Qatar-mediated talks, which was triggered on Monday when the funds that had been blocked in South Korea were wired, via Switzerland, to banks in Doha.
After the transfer was confirmed, the five US prisoners plus two relatives took off on a Qatari plane from Tehran, at the same time as two of the five Iranian detainees landed in Doha on their way home. Three Iranians chose not to go to Iran.
The plane taking the Americans to the US took off from Doha on Monday.
The freed Americans include US-Iranian dual citizens Siamak Namazi and Emad Sharqi, both businesspeople, and Morad Tahbaz, an environmentalist who also holds British nationality. Two of them have not been publicly identified.
The deal removes a point of friction between the US, which brands Tehran a sponsor of terrorism, and Iran, which calls Washington the “Great Satan”.
But it is unclear whether it will bring the two adversaries, which have been at odds for 40 years, closer on any other issues, such as Iran’s nuclear programme and its backing for regional militias or the US military presence in the Gulf and US sanctions.
‘Humanitarian action’
US President Joe Biden welcomed the returning prisoners home but his administration also announced fresh US sanctions.
“We will continue to impose costs on Iran for their provocative actions in the region,” he said on Monday.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who was in New York for the annual UN General Assembly, called the swap a humanitarian action. “It can certainly be a step based upon which in the future other humanitarian actions can be taken,” he added.
Relations between the US and Iran have been especially bitter since 2018 when then-president Donald Trump pulled out of a deal aimed at curbing Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and toughened US sanctions.
Washington suspects Iran's nuclear programme may be aimed at developing nuclear arms, a charge Iran denies.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken left the door open to nuclear diplomacy, but suggested nothing was imminent.
US analysts were sceptical about prospects for progress.
“The prisoner swap does likely pave the way for additional diplomacy around the nuclear programme this fall, although the prospect for actually reaching a deal is very remote,” said Henry Rome of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
US prisoners freed by Iran head to US
The deal removes a point of friction between the US, which brands Tehran a sponsor of terrorism, and Iran, which calls Washington the ‘Great Satan’
Doha/New York — A plane carrying five Americans freed by Iran was on its way to the US on Tuesday, a day after they were swapped for five Iranians detained in the US and the unfreezing of $6bn in Iranian funds, in a rare deal between the arch foes.
It followed a carefully choreographed exchange, agreed on after months of Qatar-mediated talks, which was triggered on Monday when the funds that had been blocked in South Korea were wired, via Switzerland, to banks in Doha.
After the transfer was confirmed, the five US prisoners plus two relatives took off on a Qatari plane from Tehran, at the same time as two of the five Iranian detainees landed in Doha on their way home. Three Iranians chose not to go to Iran.
The plane taking the Americans to the US took off from Doha on Monday.
The freed Americans include US-Iranian dual citizens Siamak Namazi and Emad Sharqi, both businesspeople, and Morad Tahbaz, an environmentalist who also holds British nationality. Two of them have not been publicly identified.
The deal removes a point of friction between the US, which brands Tehran a sponsor of terrorism, and Iran, which calls Washington the “Great Satan”.
But it is unclear whether it will bring the two adversaries, which have been at odds for 40 years, closer on any other issues, such as Iran’s nuclear programme and its backing for regional militias or the US military presence in the Gulf and US sanctions.
‘Humanitarian action’
US President Joe Biden welcomed the returning prisoners home but his administration also announced fresh US sanctions.
“We will continue to impose costs on Iran for their provocative actions in the region,” he said on Monday.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who was in New York for the annual UN General Assembly, called the swap a humanitarian action. “It can certainly be a step based upon which in the future other humanitarian actions can be taken,” he added.
Relations between the US and Iran have been especially bitter since 2018 when then-president Donald Trump pulled out of a deal aimed at curbing Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and toughened US sanctions.
Washington suspects Iran's nuclear programme may be aimed at developing nuclear arms, a charge Iran denies.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken left the door open to nuclear diplomacy, but suggested nothing was imminent.
US analysts were sceptical about prospects for progress.
“The prisoner swap does likely pave the way for additional diplomacy around the nuclear programme this fall, although the prospect for actually reaching a deal is very remote,” said Henry Rome of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Reuters
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Iran releases US detainees in prisoner swap
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