Dubai- The US and Iran have agreed to a prisoner exchange, which will also see Washington release at least $6 billion of Iranian assets seized in South Korea, Reuters reported on 11 August.
Sources speaking with Reuters said that in the first step of the agreement, Iran had moved four US-Iranian citizens from prison and is now holding them on house arrest in preparation for their eventual release. A fifth US citizen set to be released was already under house arrest.
The number of Iranian citizens imprisoned in the US, which will be released, was not announced.
A statement from the Iranian foreign ministry announced that the release of “a number of innocent Iranian prisoners who have been illegally arrested and imprisoned in this country over the past years under false accusations of circumventing the cruel American sanctions” will take place soon.
The ministry stated further that “The process of releasing billions of dollars from the assets of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which were illegally seized in South Korea by the United States for several years, has begun. Iran has received the necessary guarantee for America’s adherence to its obligations in this regard.”
The US-Iranian citizens allowed to leave the prison include businessmen Siamak Namazi, 51, Emad Shargi, 58, and Morad Tahbaz, 67. Iran arrested all three on espionage-related charges.
The identity of the two remaining US citizens was not announced.
The five Americans will be allowed to leave Iran after $6 billion of Iranian funds in South Korea are unfrozen, a source told Reuters. However, state-run outlet IRNA on Friday reported that Tehran had secured the release of $10 billion illegally held by Seoul.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency said the funds were first to be converted from South Korean currency into Euros and then sent to an account in Qatar that Iran could access.
According to another source speaking with Reuters, the funds would remain in accounts restricted by US sanctions and could only be used for humanitarian purposes such as buying food or medicine.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the deal does not involve sanctions relief. “We will continue to enforce all of our sanctions. We will continue to push back resolutely against Iran’s destabilizing activities in the region and beyond … None of these efforts take away from that,” Blinken said.
South Korea’s foreign ministry said it had no information regarding releasing prisoners but hopes the issue of releasing the frozen Iranian funds will be resolved smoothly.
“Our government has been closely consulting with involved countries such as the United States and Iran to resolve the frozen fund issue, and hopes that the issue will be resolved amicably,” the ministry said in a statement.
According to senior Israeli defense officials speaking with the New York Times, the prisoner agreement was worked out between the US and Iran during indirect talks in Oman and could also facilitate further diplomacy between the two countries.
In recent months, Washington has significantly boosted its military presence in Gulf waters in anticipation of a conflict with Iran. The Pentagon is also looking to place armed troops inside commercial vessels cruising off Iran’s coast, in a move not seen since the end of the second world war.
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