AMN
The US and Iran are expected to pull off a controversial prisoner swap today involving the unfreezing by the Biden administration of 6 billion dollars of Iranian oil money held in South Korea since 2018. Tehran and Washington are due to swap five prisoners each, including the conservationist Morad Tahbaz, a British-American citizen.
In an elaborate and delicate diplomatic deal, a Qatari plane waited in Iran today to fly out five U.S. detainees in a swap for five Iranians held in the United States. This is part of a Doha-mediated deal that has also unfrozen 6 billion US Dollars of Iranian funds.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said the funds, blocked in South Korea after U.S. sanctions on Iran in 2018, would be available to Tehran today. Under the deal, Qatar will ensure it is spent on humanitarian goods.
There was no immediate public U.S. comment.
The five Americans with dual nationality are expected to fly on from Doha to the United States. In return, five Iranians detained in the U.S. will be released. The deal will remove a major irritant between the U.S and Iran.