The president of the United States, Joe Biden, celebrated this Monday the release of five Americans from Iran and announced new sanctions against Iranians because he believes that Tehran is carrying out unjust detentions.
“Five innocent Americans who were detained in Iran will finally return home,” already in Doha, said Biden, who thanked the governments of Qatar, Oman, Switzerland and South Korea involved in the negotiations.
On the other hand, the president of the United States guaranteed that “he will continue to sanction Iran for its provocative actions in the region,” following the announcement of the prisoner exchange between Tehran and Washington, which places him in a delicate political position.
After the transfer of six billion dollars (5.62 billion euros) of Iranian funds frozen in South Korea, the Qatari plane carrying the five Americans landed on the runway of Doha international airport around 2:40 p.m. GMT (same time Lisbon).
Despite the agreement, tensions will almost certainly remain high between the United States and Iran, which are involved in several disputes, particularly over Tehran’s nuclear program. Iran claims the program is peaceful, but it is currently enriching uranium closer to weapons-grade levels than ever before.
The planned exchange unfolded amid a major US military buildup in the Persian Gulf, with the possibility of US troops boarding and capturing commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of all oil shipments pass. .
After the plane stopped, three of the prisoners walked down the ramp and were greeted by the US ambassador to Qatar, Timmy Davis. The former prisoners hugged the ambassador and other people.
Three of the five Americans were identified: Siamak Namazi, Emad Sharghi and Morad Tahbaz. However, US authorities did not reveal the names of the remaining two.
“I wouldn’t be free today if it weren’t for all of you, who didn’t let the world forget me. Thank you for being my voice when I couldn’t speak for myself and for making sure I was heard when I gathered the strength to shout from behind from the impenetrable walls of Evin prison,” Namazi said in a statement issued on his behalf after landing.
This Monday morning, the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Nasser Kanaani, stated that the exchange would take place this Monday, after confirming the transfer of six billion dollars in Iranian assets, once frozen in South Korea.
“Fortunately, Iran’s assets frozen in South Korea have been released and, God willing, today they will begin to be fully controlled by the Iranian government and nation,” Kanaani said.
“As far as the prisoner exchange is concerned, it will take place today and five prisoners, citizens of the Islamic Republic, will also be released from American prisons. Five imprisoned citizens who were in Iran will be handed over to the United States.” he added she.
Meanwhile, Nour News, a news platform believed to be close to Iran’s security apparatus, said two of the Iranian prisoners had already arrived in Doha for the exchange.
Mohammad Reza Farzin, president of the Central Bank of Iran, later went on state television to acknowledge receipt of the amount in question in accounts in Qatar. A few months ago, Iran planned to receive up to seven billion dollars (6.56 billion euros).
The planned exchange takes place before the meeting of world leaders at the UN General Assembly, which begins on Tuesday in New York, where an intervention by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is expected.
The deal has already exposed Biden to new criticism from Republicans and others who say the administration is helping to boost the Iranian economy at a time when Iran poses a growing threat to US troops and Middle East allies, which indicates that this could also have implications for his government. Re-election campaign as President of the United States.
In his statement, Biden urged Americans not to travel to Iran and demanded more information about what happened to Bob Levinson, a compatriot who disappeared years ago. Biden also announced sanctions against former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Iranian Secret Service Ministry.
Namazi, who was arrested in 2015 and later sentenced to 10 years in prison on espionage charges, Emad Sharghi, a businessman sentenced to 10 years, and Morad Tahbaz, a British-American conservationist of Iranian descent who was arrested in 2018 and also received a 10-year sentence.
All the accusations were widely criticized by his family, activists and the US government, who considered them fabricated.”
Source: TSF
