US frees 5 Americans in Iran prisoner swap
Secret deal struck after years of negotiations
$6 billion of frozen Iranian assets released
The United States has freed five Americans who had been jailed in Iran for years as part of a controversial prisoner swap. The deal was struck after years of painstaking negotiations with Iran, secretly mediated by Persian Gulf nations. Some $6 billion of Iranian assets once frozen in South Korea will also be released as part of the agreement.
The five Americans who were released include Xiyue Wang, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2016 on spying charges; Amir Hekmati, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2012 on charges of espionage and cooperating with the CIA; Jason Rezaian, who was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2015 on charges of espionage and propaganda against the Iranian government; and Bob Levinson, who disappeared in Iran in 2007 and is presumed to be dead.
In exchange for the release of the five Americans, the United States has agreed to release seven Iranians who were held in US prisons. The seven Iranians include Nosratollah Tajik, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2016 on charges of violating US sanctions on Iran; Mahmoud Khazein, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2014 on charges of money laundering and conspiracy to violate US sanctions; and Alireza Tabatabai, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2010 on charges of conspiracy to export controlled technology to Iran.
The prisoner swap is the latest in a series of high-profile prisoner swaps engineered in secret. In December 2014, the United States and Cuba exchanged three Cuban spies for Alan Gross, an American aid worker who had been held in Cuba for five years.
The prisoner swap with Iran is a significant step forward in the relationship between the two countries. The deal is a sign that the two countries are willing to work together to resolve their differences. It is also a sign that the United States is willing to engage with Iran on a variety of issues, including the nuclear deal.
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