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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

☆ Four Americans wrongfully detained in Iran released on house arrest, signaling a potential end to their imprisonment
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Christiane Amanpour | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Four Americans who have been wrongfully detained in Iran have been released from prison and are now under house arrest, a lawyer for one of the prisoners told CNN on Thursday, a sign that they may soon be freed from years of imprisonment. “The move by Iran of the American hostages from Evin Prison to an expected house arrest is an important development,” said Jared Genser, pro bono counsel to Siamak Namazi, one of those released. The Biden administration has been engaged in negotiations to try to secure their release from Iran, a country with which it does not have diplomatic relations. Genser strongly cautioned against being overly optimistic about freedom for the Americans until they are actually out of Iran. CNN has reached out to the US State Department and National Security Council for comment.

Persons: ”, Jared Genser, Siamak, – Namazi, Emad, Morad Tahbaz, Biden, Genser Organizations: CNN, Four, US State Department and National Security Council Locations: Iran, American, Tehran’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

☆ Momentum building in Iran talks with West, says source
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Mostafa Salem | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Momentum appears to be building to revive negotiations around Iran’s growing nuclear program. Talks between Iran and the European Union on Wednesday focused on key sticking points, including nuclear enrichment levels and Iranian cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, one diplomatic source briefed on the matter told CNN. “The current environment has been positive for de-escalation,” said the source, who requested anonymity citing longstanding norms around regional government communications with the media. Both Qatar and Oman have played mediating roles between Iran and Western powers in the past. Iran had demanded that South Korea release $7 billion in funds frozen in South Korean banks under US sanctions.

Persons: Enrique Mora, Ali Bagheri, ”, Mora, Kani, –, Hossein Amir, Abdollahian, “, Biden, Brett McGurk, Siamak, Emad Sharghi, Morad, Shahab Dalili, Matthew Miller, Trump Organizations: CNN, European Union, International Atomic Energy Agency, Twitter, EU, –, Iran’s, South, Oman “, IAEA Locations: Iran, Doha, Iranian, Tehran, United States, – France, Germany, United Kingdom, Oman, Qatar, American, South Korea, Korean, Iraq

CNN —The US is imposing new sanctions on groups in Russia and Iran accused of taking Americans hostage as it works to prevent more captive-taking and potentially secure the release of citizens currently being detained. The sanctions ordered up Thursday would punish organizations the US accuses of being responsible for holding hostage or wrongfully detaining Americans. Officials said the steps should act as a warning to those thinking of taking Americans hostage. The order also mandated a better flow of information to the families of Americans held hostage or detained overseas. Officials said it was possible the sanctions could be lifted if Americans held in Russia or Iran were released.

☆ 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.

☆ Iran says deal reached with US for prisoner swap
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Parisa Hafezi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Some Iranian media reported last week that Iran had reached a prisoner swap deal in exchange for the release of $7 billion in frozen Iranian oil funds under U.S. sanctions in South Korea. In 2018, then-U.S. president Donald Trump ditched a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six powers and reimposed sanctions that have crippled the Islamic Republic's economy. The deal imposed restrictions on Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for lifting international sanctions. In reaction to Washington's sanctions, Tehran has gradually violated curbs of the pact on its nuclear programme. The deal imposed restrictions on Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for lifting international sanctions.

☆ American imprisoned in Iran for seven years launches hunger strike, asks Biden to secure release of Americans held in Iran
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Dan De Luce | Dan De Luce Is A Reporter For The Nbc News Investigative Unit. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

An American imprisoned in Iran for seven years launched a hunger strike Monday to protest his “soul crushing” plight and that of other Americans held in Iran, appealing to President Joe Biden to take action to secure their release. “Yet seven years and two presidents later, I remain caged in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison.”Namazi accused former presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump of having failed him and criticized Biden for not meeting face-to-face with the families of Americans imprisoned in Iran. “In the past I implored you to reach for your moral compass and find the resolve to bring the U.S. hostages in Iran home. His elderly father, Baquer Namazi, was imprisoned in 2016 after having traveled to Iran to try to help his son. Two other U.S. citizens are imprisoned in Iran, Morad Tahbaz and Emad Sharghi, as well as an unknown number of permanent U.S. legal residents, including Shahab Dalili.

☆ 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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