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☆ Inside the crucial final hours as American diplomats tackled last minute obstacles to bring five Americans imprisoned in Iran home
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Senior State Department officials spoke to CNN about what happened on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive details. The Iranians even threatened not to include all five of the Americans in the release unless the US did more, the officials told CNN. “We held our line and the Iranians backed down and we made it work,” a senior State Department official said. But the Qatari officials, in a smooth diplomatic maneuver, countered that they would be offended if everyone did not eat while on board the Qatari plane and an agonizing final delay was avoided. ET, the US plane carrying the seven Americans, Carstens, Paley and other US officials departed Doha en route to the US.

Persons: Iran Abram Paley, Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens, “, ”, didn’t, “ They’re, “ We’ve, “ couldn’t, Morad, Emad Shargi, Effie, Vida, Siamak, Karim Jaafar, Carstens, Paley, Antony Blinken, Blinken, Joe Biden, ” Shargi Organizations: CNN, Senior State Department, Hostage Affairs, Qatari, Swiss, State Department, Central Bank, Doha International Airport, Getty, Defense, “ CNN Locations: United States, Iran, Tehran, Doha, South Korea, Qatar, Emad Sharqi, AFP, Washington, DC, Fort Belvoir , Virginia, PISA, Fort Belvoir

☆ Iran prisoner release: Five Americans back on US soil after release from Iranian detention
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Five Americans freed from Iranian detention this week returned to US soil early Tuesday following an initial stop in Doha, Qatar, two US officials told CNN. Yay Abram!”Then the freed American detainees stepped off the plane and onto US soil for the first time in more than five years and into the arms of their loved ones, some of whom rushed forward to greet them, carrying small American flags. “We’re home,” Emad Shargi said after embracing his daughters, Hannah and Ariana, and stroking his wife Bahareh’s face. And I know a lot of you are going to maintain the fight to try to bring more Americans home,” he said. Namazi’s mother, Effie Namazi, and Tahbaz’s wife, Vida Tahbaz, who had been previously unable to leave Iran, were also on the flight from Iran to Doha, the official said Monday.

Persons: Emad, Morad, Siamak, Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens, Iran Abram Paley, “, Roger ! Yay Abram, ”, Emad Shargi, Hannah, Ariana, Bahareh’s, other’s, Carstens, Effie Namazi, Vida Tahbaz, Joe Biden, Biden Organizations: CNN — Five, CNN, Fort Belvoir’s Davison Army, Department of Defense, Hostage Affairs, Qatari, Washington, Monday, Biden Locations: Doha, Qatar, Fort, PISA, United States, Iran, Tehran, DC, American

☆ Five Americans freed from Iran arrive back in the U.S. after prisoner swap
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Patrick Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Family members embrace freed American Emad Shargi after he and four fellow detainees were released in a prisoner swap deal between U.S and Iran, and arrived at Davison Army Airfield at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, U.S., September 19, 2023. Five Americans who were released after being wrongfully imprisoned in Iran for years have arrived back on U.S. soil. A plane carrying the five Americans and two of their relatives touched down at a military airfield near Washington, D.C. early Tuesday. NBC News first reported on the prisoner swap negotiations in February. He was arrested in 2015 on charges of espionage and convicted in a trial that lasted a few hours.

Persons: American Emad, Mahsa, Siamak Namazi, Emad Shargi, Morad Tahbaz Organizations: Davison Army, Five, NBC News Locations: American, U.S, Iran, Fort Belvoir , Virginia, Washington ,, Gulf, Qatar, Tehran, Iranian

The deal removes a point of friction between the United States, which brands Tehran a sponsor of terrorism, and Iran, which calls Washington the "Great Satan". 'HUMANITARIAN ACTION'[1/9]Family members embrace freed American Emad Shargi after he and four fellow detainees were released in a prisoner swap deal between U.S and Iran, and arrived at Davison Army Airfield at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who was in New York for the annual U.N. General Assembly, called the swap a humanitarian action. Relations between the United States 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 U.S. sanctions. Washington suspects Iran's nuclear program may be aimed at developing nuclear arms, a charge Iran denies.

Persons: Babak Namazi, Siamak, Siamak Namazi, Morad Tahbaz, American Emad, Jonathan Ernst, Joe Biden, Ebrahim Raisi, Biden, Michael McCaul, Donald Trump, Iran's, Antony Blinken, Henry Rome of, Andrew Mills, Humeyra Pamuk, Parisa, Edmund Blair, Arshad Mohammed, Gareth Jones, Jon Boyle, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Doha DOHA, NEW, Stripes, Qatari, Davison Army, REUTERS, Rights, General Assembly, Democrat, House Foreign, U.S, Washington Institute for Near, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Qatar, Iran, Doha, United States, U.S, Fort Belvoir , Virginia, South Korea, Switzerland, Tehran, Washington, Gulf and U.S, Emad Sharqi, British, American, New York

☆ Exclusive: Qatar PM touts ‘better environment’ after US-Iran prisoner deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( David Shortell | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

“We were so proud to see that Qatar helped in bringing those people back to their families,” Al-Thani told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in an exclusive interview. “I hope both countries are believing that this will lead to a better environment to go for an entire agreement on the nuclear issue, and any other outstanding issue,” he said. The Qatar-mediated prisoner-release deal came amid a significant dialing back of tensions between Iran and the US in recent months. Attacks by Iran and its proxies on US interests in the Middle East have almost ceased, and Iran’s oil exports have risen despite Western sanctions on its oil industry. Meanwhile, Iran’s uranium enrichment under its nuclear program has reportedly slowed.

Persons: Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, “, ”, Thani, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, Emad, Morad, Siamak, Amanpour, Biden, Ebrahim Raisi, Donald Trump’s, Raisi, Joe Biden Organizations: CNN — Qatar, Qatari, CNN, Biden, UN, Assembly, Hall, Ukraine ” Locations: Iran, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al, Thani, Qatar, ” Al, Virginia, Doha, Al, New York, UN’s, Ukraine, United States, America

☆ What we know about 3 of the Americans who were released from Iranian detention
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Shawna Mizelle | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Two additional Americans in the deal have not yet been publicly identified. His father, Baquer, was also imprisoned in 2016 but was released in order to receive medical treatment in October 2022. Tahbaz is a US, UK and Iranian citizen who was arrested on allegations of espionage while on a trip to Iran. He spent eight months in jail and was released on bail but had a travel ban. In November 2020, he was sentenced to 10 years in jail by a Revolutionary Court for espionage charges.

Persons: Emad, Morad, Siamak Namazi, ” Namazi, Baquer, Tahbaz’s, Tara, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, ”, ” Tara Tahbaz, Kavous Seyed, Shargi, Hannah Sharghi, Sharghi, “, Tahbaz Organizations: Washington CNN, UN, Doha International Airport, AFP, Getty Images, Getty, Human Rights, Wildlife Heritage –, Wildlife Heritage Foundation, CNN, Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation, Revolutionary, US State Department Locations: Iran, South Korea, Qatar, Dubai, Doha, AFP, Tahbaz, US

The US government has designated all five Americans as being wrongfully detained. The release of the Americans would bring to an end a years-long nightmare for those who had been detained. The agreement, which has already prompted criticism from Republicans, also involves the release of five Iranians in US custody. The overall contours of the release protest began to crystallize in Doha about seven months ago after years of indirect negotiations. The first tangible public steps under the deal took place about five weeks ago, when four of the Americans were transferred into house arrest.

Persons: Nasser Kanaani, Morad Tahbaz, Namazi, Trump, Baquer Namazi, Joe Biden, Biden Organizations: Washington CNN — Five, CNN, Monday, Biden, US Treasury Department Locations: Doha, Iran, Iranian, United States, Tehran, South Korea, Qatar, Switzerland, Washington, American, Evin

☆ How Iran and the US reached the prisoner swap deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Parisa Hafezi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Sept 18 (Reuters) - Iran and the U.S. were to swap five detainees each on Monday after Qatar mediated a deal between the arch foes that also unfroze $6 billion of Tehran's funds. The transfer of Iran's funds has drawn Republican criticism that President Joe Biden, a Democrat, is in effect paying ransom for U.S. citizens. WHY WERE IRAN'S FUNDS FROZEN IN SOUTH KOREA? He also reimposed harsh U.S. sanctions designed to choke off Iran's oil exports as part of a "maximum pressure" campaign on the Islamic Republic. Seoul, normally one of Iran’s largest oil customers, received a waiver in 2018 from the United States to continue purchases of Iranian oil for several months.

Persons: Joe Biden, Tehran's, Dado Ruvic, Siamak Namazi, Emad Shargi, Morad Tahbaz, Mehrdad Moin, Ansari, Kambiz Attar, Kashani, Reza Sarhangpour, Amin Hassanzadeh, Kaveh, Donald Trump, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Khamenei, Parisa Hafezi, William Maclean Organizations: Qatar, Reuters, Iranian Foreign, Democrat, Doha, U.S, Iranian, REUTERS, WHO, United Nations, KOREA, Washington, U.S ., Islamic, Thomson Locations: Iran, U.S, Qatar, Doha, Tehran, Qatar's, United States, Iranian, Lebanon, Israel's, Washington, Islamic Republic, Seoul, IRAN

☆ Iran prisoners: Biden admin takes step advancing deal to free Americans held in Iran by issuing waiver for transfer of restricted Iranian funds to Qatar
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The process to bring the Americans home began to move forward in mid-August with the release of four Americans into house arrest. “The transfer requires the involvement of financial institutions from Germany, Ireland, Qatar, the ROK, and Switzerland,” he wrote. The waiver, which Blinken approved on Friday, will allow those institutions to transfer the money to the accounts in Qatar without worry of invoking US sanctions. Namazi, Tahbaz, and Shargi have all been detained in Iran for years. CNN reported on those details following the release of Namazi, Tahbaz, Shargi and a fourth American into house arrest in mid-August.

Persons: CNN —, Biden, Antony Blinken, ”, Blinken, Morad, Emad Shargi, we’ve, “ It’s Organizations: CNN, US State Department, CNN –, ROK, Associated Press Locations: Qatar, Iran, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland, United States, American, Washington, Tehran

Befitting the relationship, the path has been thorny, according to accounts shared with CNN by several sources familiar with the talks. The United States and Iran don’t have diplomatic relations, and public overtures by Washington to engage directly with Tehran on the matter were rebuffed. Swiss diplomats serve as the protecting power – the eyes and ears on the ground – for the US in Iran. Sources said that bringing the Americans back home had been a priority from the outset of President Joe Biden’s tenure. Now, US officials say the work continues, but they are cautiously optimistic that the five could be coming home.

Persons: “, Antony Blinken, –, Adrienne Watson, Trump, Biden, Joe Biden’s, Morad, Shargi –, Namazi, Obama, ” Blinken Organizations: Washington CNN, CNN, Washington, National Security, White, US Treasury, State Department, US Treasury Department, Biden Locations: Iran, Doha, –, Washington, Tehran, United States, East, Europe, Qatar, Oman, United Kingdom, Switzerland, American, Swiss, South Korea

Siamak Namazi, left, a U.S. citizen who has been held prisoner in Iran for nearly eight years, with his father, Baquer Namazi. The U.S. government has identified three American citizens held in Iran — Siamak Namazi, Emad Shargi and Morad Tahbaz. NBC News first reported on the prisoner exchange negotiations in February. The families of the Americans held in Iran say their loved ones are "hostages" taken captive on false charges and used as bargaining chips by the government. And Siamak Namazi has been held prisoner in Iran for nearly eight years, longer than any of the other current American detainees.

Persons: Siamak Namazi, Baquer Namazi, Barack Obama, Emad, Shahab Dalili, Jared Genser, Namazi, Joe Biden, Obama, Biden, Donald Trump, Tahbaz, Shargi, Baquer, Robert Levinson, Levinson, Bob Levinson Organizations: NBC, Administration, NBC News, International Atomic Energy Agency, U.S, Congress, British, Tufts, Rutgers, FBI, CIA Locations: U.S, Iran, Tehran, Washington, Qatar, South Korea, United States, Israel, Iranian American, Iranian, Iran's

"The move by Iran of the American hostages from Evin Prison to an expected house arrest is an important development," Genser said in a statement. A second source familiar with the indirect U.S.-Iranian talks said it could be weeks before the U.S. citizens could leave Iran, saying September was a possible time frame. Namazi, who in 2016 was convicted of espionage-related charges the United States has rejected as baseless, has been detained by Iran for more than seven years. His father, Baquer, was allowed to leave Iran in October for medical treatment after being detained on similar charges also rejected by Washington. Tahbaz was arrested in 2018 and sentenced to 10 years in prison for "assembly and collusion against Iran's national security" and working for the United States as a spy.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Tehran's, Siamak Namazi, Emad Shargi, Morad Tahbaz, Jared Genser, Genser, Adrienne Watson, Joe Biden, Baquer, Tahbaz, Shargi, Arshad Mohammed, Parisa Hafezi, Humeyra Pamuk, Jeff Mason, Jasper Ward, Dan Whitcomb, Mark Porter, Lisa Shumaker, Grant McCool Organizations: REUTERS, WASHINGTON, U.S, Iranian, Security, eventual, Democrat, Washington, Iran's, Thomson Locations: DUBAI, Iran, South Korea, United States, U.S, Washington, Tehran, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, Dubai

"The move by Iran of the American hostages from Evin Prison ... is an important development," Genser said in a statement. Iran's mission to the United Nations, however, told Iranian state media the release of the dual nationals from prison was part of a U.S.-Iranian prisoner exchange deal. The five Americans will be allowed to leave Iran after $6 billion of Iranian funds in South Korea are unfrozen, a source told Reuters. Karim Sadjadpour, a Carnegie Endowment for International Peace analyst, said Iranian Americans should still avoid travel to Iran. "This deal will reinforce the view of (Iran's) Revolutionary Guards that hostage taking is a lucrative practice with minimal costs," he said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Tehran's, Siamak Namazi, Emad Shargi, Morad Tahbaz, Jared Genser, Genser, Adrienne Watson, Joe Biden, Henry Rome, Donald Trump, Karim Sadjadpour, Namazi, Tahbaz, Shargi, Arshad Mohammed, Parisa Hafezi, Humeyra Pamuk, Jeff Mason, Jasper Ward, Dan Whitcomb, Mark Porter, Lisa Shumaker, Grant McCool Organizations: REUTERS, WASHINGTON, U.S, Iranian, National Security, United Nations, Reuters, South, Democrat, Washington Institute for Near East, Republican, Carnegie Endowment, International Peace, Guards, Iran's, Thomson Locations: DUBAI, Iran, South Korea, United States, U.S, Washington, Tehran, Qatar, IRAN, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, Rome, Dubai

☆ Daughter of U.S. citizen jailed by Iran says she has lost confidence in US efforts
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, April 22 (Reuters) - The daughter of an environmentalist imprisoned by Iran said on Saturday she had lost confidence in U.S. President Joe Biden's efforts to free her father. Morad Tahbaz, an Iranian-American who also holds British citizenship, has served five years of a 10-year sentence after being convicted of spying. In July his lawyer was quoted as saying he had been granted bail, but his daughter said he was now back in jail. The United States has urged Iran to release Tahbaz and two other citizens, Emad Shargi and Siamak Namazi, who are all imprisoned on espionage charges that Washington says are baseless. Namazi, an oil executive, was jailed for 10 years in 2016 on charges of spying and cooperating with the U.S. government.

☆ Jailed Iranian American appeals to Biden, starts hunger strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Arshad Mohammed | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Siamak Namazi made the plea in a letter to Biden seven years to the day that Iran released five other U.S. citizens in a prisoner exchange choreographed to coincide with the implementation of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Namazi, whose father was allowed to leave Iran in October for medical treatment after being detained on espionage-related charges rejected by Washington, said he would be on a hunger strike for the same seven days. read more"All I want sir, is one minute of your days' time for the next seven days devoted to thinking about the tribulations of the U.S. hostages in Iran," he added. Asked for comment, a White House national security council spokesperson said the government was committed to securing Namazi's freedom. "We are working tirelessly to bring him home along with all U.S. citizens who are wrongfully detained in Iran," the spokesperson said.

☆ Daughters of Americans imprisoned in Iran appeal to Biden for action
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Dan De Luce | Dan De Luce Is A Reporter For The Nbc News Investigative Unit. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

The daughters of two Iranian Americans imprisoned in Iran for more than four years appealed for a face-to-face meeting with President Joe Biden and called on him to take the tough decisions necessary to bring their fathers home. Morad Tahbaz has been imprisoned in Iran since 2018. It is his duty to bring Americans home who are wrongfully detained,” Tahbaz said. She said Biden was committed to securing the release of Americans wrongfully detained overseas. The third American held in Iran, Siamak Namazi, has been imprisoned for seven years.

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