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