Biden reaches deal with Iran to free US citizens and unfreeze $6 billion in assets – By Misty Severi (Washington Examiner) / Aug 10, 2023
President Joe Biden reached a deal that frees U.S. citizens from Iran in exchange for imprisoned Iranians and unfreezes $6 billion in Iranian assets, Biden officials announced on Thursday.
The United States will receive five Americans who have been detained by Iran over spying allegations. In return, the U.S. will give Iran several Iranian nationals who violated Iranian sanctions.
“We have received confirmation that Iran has released from prison five Americans who were unjustly detained and has placed them on house arrest,” National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement. “While this is an encouraging step, these U.S. citizens — Siamak Namazi, Morad Tahbaz, Emad Shargi, and two Americans who at this time wish to remain private — should have never been detained in the first place.”
Watson said the U.S. would continue to monitor the Americans, four of whom have been placed under house arrest in a Tehran hotel. But it is still expected to take weeks until the citizens are back home on U.S. soil, and the situation is still considered delicate as talks on the exchange continue.
