United States and Iran flags merged into one image. DADO RUVIC (Portal)
Iran has placed five Americans it has so far held in its prisons under house arrest in what appears to be a first step towards extraditing what Washington has always denounced as hostages.
The White House National Security Council, through its spokeswoman Adrienne Watson, has confirmed the detainees’ transfer to house arrest, calling efforts to release them “sensitive” and that they are “continuing” to be made.
Lawyer Jared Genser has confirmed that his three clients, Siamak Namazi, Emad Sharghi and Morad Tabaz, and another unidentified detainee are currently under surveillance at a Tehran hotel. With them is the fifth person, also an unknown woman who had previously been transferred. They all have dual Iranian nationality or are of Iranian descent.
Namazi was arrested in 2015 and sentenced to ten years in prison for espionage in a trial that was heavily criticized internationally. The investor Sharghi had also received a similar penalty for alleged espionage. Tahbaz, a British-American national of Iranian descent, has been jailed since 2018 and is also serving a 10-year sentence for “US government ties”.
If the existence of an agreement to release the five is confirmed, it would be the culmination of a series of delicate negotiations between the United States and Tehran that began two and a half years ago over intermediate countries such as Oman, since the two traditional enemies have had no diplomatic ties. Iran had indicated that in exchange it would demand the release of around $6 billion in oil revenues from South Korean banks.
“Iran’s transfer of American hostages from Evin prison to house arrest is a significant development,” Genser said in a statement. “While I hope this is the first step towards its final release, this is at best the beginning of the end and nothing more. But there are simply no guarantees as to what will happen from now on.
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Neda Shargi, the sister of one of the prisoners, has also confirmed the transfer. “My family has faith in the work that President (Joe) Biden and administration officials have done to help our families return home, and I hope to receive this news soon,” he also said in a statement. “By then, I hope you understand that we don’t think further comment will help.”
It’s not clear when the five would surrender in US custody if the deal were confirmed. Tensions between the two governments have increased in recent months and the US Navy is increasing its presence in the Persian Gulf, where it is considering the possibility of escorting merchant ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s population passes. world oil trade.
The transfer “is an encouraging step, but these US citizens should never have been detained,” Watson said. “We will continue to monitor his situation as closely as possible. Of course, we won’t rest until they are all back in the United States.”
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