Five Americans Released In Prisoner Swap With Iran

CNN reports:

Five Americans who had been imprisoned in Iran have been freed and have landed in Doha, Qatar, before flying to the United States later on Monday. The five, all of whom had been designated as wrongfully detained, were freed as part of a wider deal that includes the US unfreezing $6 billion in Iranian funds.

They are being flown on a Qatari government jet to Doha, which left an airport Tehran on Monday afternoon local time. Two relatives of the detainees are also on board, along with the Qatari ambassador to Tehran.

Their release represents a significant diplomatic breakthrough after years of complicated indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran. The United States and Iran do not have formal diplomatic ties.

The New York Times reports:

Top aides to Mr. Biden have said financial sanctions and strict monitoring will prevent Iran from spending the money on anything except food, medicine and other humanitarian goods. But they acknowledge that the deal might free up money that Iran is already spending on those items for other purposes.

The terms of the deal have generated intense criticism from Republicans, who accused Mr. Biden of helping to finance Iran’s terrorist activities around the world.

“Iran’s leaders will take the money and run,” Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, wrote last week on X, the social media platform formerly called Twitter. “What on earth did Joe Biden think would happen?”

The Americans freed in the Iran-U.S. prisoner swap land in Qatar. pic.twitter.com/eofyY3SNug

— The Recount (@therecount) September 18, 2023