CNN –
Five Americans detained in Iran are expected to be released on Monday as part of a broader deal between the United States and Iran, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
The US government has classified all five Americans as unlawfully imprisoned.
At a news conference broadcast on state Press TV on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said the publication would “hopefully be finalized” along with the other elements of the deal.
A Qatari plane is on standby in Iran to take the five Americans to Doha, a source briefed on the details of the matter told CNN on Monday.
Under the U.S.-Iran agreement, $6 billion of Iranian funds held in blocked accounts in South Korea would be transferred to blocked accounts at banks in Qatar. Iranian and U.S. officials were informed by Qatar that the money was transferred from Switzerland to bank accounts in Qatar, according to a source briefed on details of the matter.
Sources told CNN that the funds came from permitted oil sales and were deposited into accounts set up under the Trump administration. Biden administration officials have stressed that the funds transferred to the accounts in Qatar can only be used by Iran for humanitarian purchases and each transaction will be monitored by the U.S. Treasury Department.
The agreement also includes the release of five Iranians in US custody.
The Americans’ release would be a significant diplomatic breakthrough after years of complicated indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
The three who are publicly known to be part of the deal – Emad Shargi, Morad Tahbaz and Siamak Namazi – have all been imprisoned for more than five years. Namazi has been imprisoned since 2015. The identities of the other two Americans are not publicly known.
This is a developing story. It is being updated…