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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

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

☆ Biden: Today 'five innocent Americans' imprisoned in Iran are coming home
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

US citizens Siamak Namazi (R-back), Emad Sharqi (L) and Morad Tahbaz (C) disembark from a Qatari jet upon their arrival at the Doha International Airport in Doha on September 18, 2023. President Joe Biden celebrated the release of five American prisoners from Iran on Monday. "Today, five innocent Americans who were imprisoned in Iran are finally coming home," Biden said in a statement. South Korea owed Iran, but had not paid, the money for oil purchased before the U.S. imposed sanctions. "For almost eight years I have been dreaming of this day," Namazi, who was imprisoned in 2015, said in a statement following his release.

Persons: Siamak, Morad, Joe Biden, Biden, Ebrahim Raisi, Emad Sharghi, Namazi Organizations: Doha International Airport, United Nations General Assembly Locations: Emad Sharqi, Doha, Iran, New York, South Korea, Qatar, United States, U.S

☆ U.S.-Iran detainee swap deal to go ahead on Monday, says Tehran
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A fourth U.S. citizen was also released into house arrest, while a fifth was already under house arrest. As a first step in the deal, Washington waived sanctions to allow the transfer of $6 billion in Iranian funds from South Korea to Qatar. The transfer of Iran's funds has drawn criticism from U.S. Republicans who say President Joe Biden, a Democrat, is in effect paying a ransom for U.S. citizens. Ties between Washington and Tehran have been boiling since Donald Trump, a Republican, pulled the U.S. out of a nuclear deal between Iran and global powers when he was president in 2018. Reaching another nuclear deal has gained little traction since then, as Biden prepares for the 2024 U.S. election.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Nasser Kanaani, Morad Tahbaz, Mehrdad Moin, Ansari, Kambiz Attar, Kashani, Reza Sarhangpour, Amin Hassanzadeh, Afrasiabi, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Biden, Elwely Elwelly, Hyonshee, Edmund Blair, Stephen Coates, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: Iranian, REUTERS, Rights, Iran's Foreign Ministry, Reuters, Gulf . South Korea's Foreign, U.S, Republicans, Democrat, Republican, Thomson Locations: U.S, Rights DUBAI, Tehran, United States, Qatar, South Korea, Iran, Doha, Washington, Gulf . South, Emad Sharqi, British, Dubai, Seoul

☆ Iran's Raisi: five US citizens detained in Iran 'in full health'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi meets with Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa (not pictured) during his official visit at the State House in Harare, Zimbabwe, on July 13, 2023. Iran's Presidency/Mohammad Javad Ostad/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Five U.S. citizens detained in Iran, who are expected to be swapped for five Iranians imprisoned in the United States as early as next week, are "in full health," Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said in a television interview on Tuesday. One source familiar with the talks has previously said the Swiss embassy, which represents U.S. interests in Iran, had visited the five Americans and said they were in good health. While Raisi appeared to acknowledge the $6 billion may only be used for humanitarian purposes, he said Iran would decide how the money would be spent. "This money belongs to the Iranian people, the Iranian government, so the Islamic Republic of Iran will decide what to do with this money," Raisi said in the interview, speaking through an Iranian government translator.

Persons: Ebrahim Raisi, Emmerson Mnangagwa, Mohammad Javad Ostad, Raisi, Lester Holt, Morad Tahbaz, Arshad Mohammed, Samia Nakhoul, Timothy Gardner Organizations: State House, Iran's, West Asia News Agency, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, U.S, NBC Nightly, U.S ., British, NBC, U.S . State Department, Thomson Locations: Harare, Zimbabwe, Iran, United States, Tehran, U.S, Emad Sharqi, South Korean, Washington, Qatar, Swiss, Islamic Republic of Iran, South Korea, Dubai

Iran's Presidency/Mohammad Javad Ostad/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Five U.S. citizens detained in Iran who are expected to be swapped for five Iranians imprisoned in the United States as early as next week are "in full health," Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Tuesday. The United States said it will have "oversight" on how and when the funds will be spent. IRNA, citing Iran's mission to the United Nations, said "some of the freed Iranians will remain in the United States while others will return ... "The arrangements have been done and the final action of swapping the prisoners should be finalized in the due time," Raisi told NBC, according to excerpts released by the network. "This money belongs to the Iranian people, the Iranian government, so the Islamic Republic of Iran will decide what to do with this money," Raisi said in the interview, speaking through an Iranian government translator.

Persons: Ebrahim Raisi, Emmerson Mnangagwa, Mohammad Javad Ostad, Matthew Miller, Raisi, Lester Holt, Siamak, Morad Tahbaz, Mehrdad Moin, Ansari, Kambiz Attar, Kashani, Reza Sarhangpour, Amin Hassanzadeh, Kaveh, IRNA, John Kirby, Arshad Mohammed, Rami Ayyub, Daphne Psaledakis, Parisa Hafezi, Timothy Gardner, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: State House, Iran's, West Asia News Agency, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, U.S, United, Department, NBC Nightly, U.S ., British, U.S . State Department, United Nations, White House, MSNBC, NBC, Thomson Locations: Harare, Zimbabwe, Iran, United States, South Korean, Washington, Tehran, U.S, Emad Sharqi, Qatar, Islamic Republic of Iran, Dubai

☆ Iran, US on Verge of Prisoner Swap Under Qatar-Mediated Deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +9 min

"Iran initially wanted direct access to the funds but in the end agreed to having access via Qatar," said a senior diplomat. Reuters pieced together this account of previously unreported details about the extent of Qatari mediation of the secret talks, how the deal unfolded and the expediency that motivated both parties to clinch the prisoner swap deal. Ties between the U.S. and Iran have been at boiling point since Donald Trump quit a nuclear deal with Iran as U.S. president in 2018. Reaching another nuclear deal has gained little traction since then, as President Joe Biden prepares for the 2024 U.S. election. Then president Trump in 2018 reimposed the sanctions when he pulled Washington out of a deal under which Iran had restricted its nuclear program.

Persons: Parisa Hafezi, Andrew Mills, Antony Blinken, Siamak Namazi, Morad Tahbaz, hasn’t, Jin, Washington, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Biden, Blinken, Iran’s, Trump, Iran Robert Malley, Abram Paley, Ali Bagheri Kani, Mehdi Safari, Foreign Ministry Mohammed Al, Khulaifi, Malley, Paley, Kani, Al Khulaifi, Laila Bassam, Samia Nakhoul, William Maclean Organizations: Reuters, U.S, British, Islamic, Washington, Doha, Iranian, State Department, Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The State Department, Democrat, Qatari, TRANSIT QATAR, Iran, The Central Bank of, U.S ., State, Foreign Ministry Locations: Andrew Mills DUBAI, DOHA, Qatar, Iran, U.S, Tehran’s, Emad Sharqi, Islamic Republic, Western, Gulf, South Korea, Washington, Switzerland, Tehran, Seoul, Doha, Iranian, The Central Bank of Iran, Beirut

☆ Iran, US on verge of prisoner swap under Qatar-mediated deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Reuters pieced together this account of previously unreported details about the extent of Qatari mediation of the secret talks, how the deal unfolded and the expediency that motivated both parties to clinch the prisoner swap deal. 'You can build trust'The U.S. administration has not commented on the timing of the funds transfer. Ties between the U.S. and Iran have been at boiling point since Donald Trump quit a nuclear deal with Iran as U.S. president in 2018. Reaching another nuclear deal has gained little traction since then, as President Joe Biden prepares for the 2024 U.S. election. Then president Trump in 2018 reimposed the sanctions when he pulled Washington out of a deal under which Iran had restricted its nuclear program.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Siamak Namazi, Morad Tahbaz, hasn't, Jin, Washington, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Biden, Blinken, Trump, Iran Robert Malley, Abram Paley, Ali Bagheri Kani, Mehdi Safari, Foreign Ministry Mohammed Al, Khulaifi, Malley, Paley, Kani, Al Khulaifi Organizations: Capitol, Iranian, National, Washington D.C, U.S, Reuters, British, Islamic, Washington, Doha, State Department, Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The State Department, Democrat, Qatari, Iran, The Central Bank of, U.S ., State, Foreign Ministry Locations: Iranian, Washington, United States, Qatar, Iran, U.S, Tehran's, Emad Sharqi, Islamic Republic, Western, Gulf, South Korea, Switzerland, Tehran, Seoul, Doha, The Central Bank of Iran

Persons: Mohammed bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh Al Khulaifi, Iran Dr, Ali Bagheri, Antony Blinken, Siamak Namazi, Morad Tahbaz, hasn’t, Jin, Washington, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Biden, Blinken, Iran’s, Trump, Iran Robert Malley, Abram Paley, Ali Bagheri Kani, Mehdi Safari, Foreign Ministry Mohammed Al, Khulaifi, Malley, Paley, Kani, Al Khulaifi, Laila Bassam, Samia Nakhoul, William Maclean Organizations: Regional Affairs, Political Affairs, Qatar News Agency, Handout, REUTERS Acquire, Qatar, Qatar DUBAI, U.S, Reuters, British, Islamic, Washington, Doha, Iranian, State Department, Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The State Department, Democrat, Qatari, TRANSIT QATAR, Iran, The Central Bank of, U.S ., State, Foreign Ministry, Thomson Locations: Islamic Republic, Iran, Tehran, Qatar Gulf, DOHA, Qatar, U.S, Tehran’s, Emad Sharqi, Western, Gulf, South Korea, Washington, Switzerland, Seoul, Doha, Iranian, The Central Bank of Iran, Beirut

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