World

(LONDON) — When she hopped on a taxi in Tehran this past summer, Raha was not wearing a headscarf.

Her open challenge to the mandatory hijab rule in place in Iran for the last 40 years did not go unnoticed. She said her male taxi driver complimented her for the brave gesture, like many other men have done since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in the custody of the police for allegedly wearing her headscarf improperly.

“You are going to change this regime. It’s the way to go,” the driver said to Raha, as she told ABC News. She wanted her real name not to be used for her safety. “You are so strong and free-spirited. We are proud of you.”

Raha said she faced at that moment another aspect of the reality of the Mahsa revolution, which had been going on for over 10 months. The praise of the taxi driver should have made her feel more hopeful for the future. Instead, it made her reflect on how men in Iran support the movement.

“I want them to know I am not strong. I am tired of them expecting me to always be strong and them just being proud,” she said. “I told him I wanted men to really join us in this fight, both on and off the streets.”

For Raha, then, being cheered on was not enough.

“Woman, Life, Freedom” is a movement of women but without men’s solid support, it would be doomed to fail, as experts and activists say.

At least 551 people have been killed and 22 have died of suspicious deaths connected to the regime since September 2022, according to a report by Iran Human Rights. Nearly 80% of the victims were men, the group said. Moreover, only men were executed by the Republic in retaliation to the uprising. Amnesty International said the men were hanged after “sham trials.”

Iranian women believe the regime is trying to scare men from joining their mothers, sisters and wives in their fight for equal rights by making them the main target of their systematic bloody suppression.

“Although the focus of the movement is on women rights, the people who got executed for the revolution are primarily men,” Nasrin Rahimieh, an expert in Iranian and women studies at University of California Irvine, told ABC News. “The reason why it’s cross-gender is simple: it is about the rights of the individual.”

Men’s support for the cause of Iranian women can come in many forms and levels, from active participation in protests, to online campaigning, and more importantly, “accepting women’s choices about their lives,” Raha said.

As she explained, the pressure to follow the lawful dress code also comes from conservative male relatives. Something she’s seen changing.

“Mahsa’s revolution was actually a renaissance in Iranian society. I am witnessing this renaissance in my own family which is from one of the most traditional classes of Iranian society,” Raha said. “Now the very same family, the very same society, which was restricting me, is encouraging me.”

Hamoun, 21, kept up his support both on and off the streets. He was arrested and tortured by the security guards on Saturday as he participated in a peaceful gathering for the one-year anniversary of Amini’s death in Tehran. He said he was handcuffed, beaten up, insulted and verbally threatened.

“I think that all of us should participate hand in hand in this revolution and defend the right against oppression, be free and save our country from poverty and ignorance”, Hamoun told ABC News.

“To me, the slogan of a woman’s life of freedom is more than a slogan,” he said. “It’s a belief that we should all believe in and apply, especially as men.”

Experts suggest that the aggressive rate at which the regime has been imprisoning or executing men involved in the protests it’s a clear sign of its awareness that if men and women unite, it will struggle to contain the movement.

“The message is: ‘Don’t get involved,'” Rahimieh explained.

Iranian women who spoke with ABC News agreed it’s an attempt to intimidate.

“Since last year, many young men have been arrested and some of them have been executed without committing any crime,” Mahsa Piraei told ABC News.

She is a U.K.-based Iranian woman, whose mother, Minoo Majidi, was killed by the police during the protests last September. She recalls fearing her father would endure the same destiny if he supported the movement.

“When I was in Iran for my mother’s funeral, I could see the morality police everywhere in the street and I was shaking. I kept thinking, one of them is the murder of my mother,” Piraei said. “And I can remember I covered my hair because I was next to my dad, and I was very afraid that one of them would shoot my father as well, right there.”

She added, “I think the regime wants to scare men to stop them from supporting the women of Iran. I don’t think it’s succeeding.”

 

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LONDON) — The Wall Street Journal reporter detained in Russia appeared on Tuesday in Moscow City Court to appeal an August decision to extend his pre-trial detention, but was turned away without a ruling.

Evan Gershkovich, a Moscow correspondent with the paper, has been detained on spying charges since March, when Russian officials accused him of collecting state secrets about the military. A judge in Lefortovo Court in Moscow had extended the journalist’s pre-trial detention until Nov. 30.

There were few details available as to why the court declined to hear Gershkovich’s appeal. The case is expected to be returned to a lower court. An appeal will have to be resubmitted.

“The Moscow City Court considered the lawyers’ complaint in a closed court session and decided to remove the material regarding E. Gershkovich from appeal consideration, and send the material to the Lefortovo District Court of Moscow to eliminate the circumstances impeding the consideration of the criminal case in the appellate court,” the court said in a statement on Tuesday.

The hearing on Tuesday was held behind closed doors, as the case contains classified materials, the court’s press service said. Russian officials have not detailed their case against Gershkovich.

The correspondent was arrested by Russia’s Federal Security Service, known as the FSB, on March 29 in Yekaterinburg, Russia.

Gershkovich’s parents and sister appeared earlier this month at the United Nations, joining U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield in asking member states to declare the reporter’s detention illegal.

WSJ lawyers filed a petition asking U.N. members to condemn his imprisonment.

“No family should have to watch their loved one being used as a political pawn,” Thomas-Greenfield said. “And that’s exactly what President Putin is doing.”

She said Russia’s actions were “beyond cruel” and a “violation of international law.”

President Joe Biden, who spoke with Gershkovich’s family in April, has said the detention was “totally illegal.”

State department officials said the U.S. determined the journalist had been “wrongfully detained.”

The House of Representatives in June unanimously passed a resolution calling for the immediate release of Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, another American being held in Russia.

“Both of these gentlemen are wrongfully detained,” John Kirby, spokesperson for the National Security Council, said on ABC News’ Good Morning America on Tuesday. “Both are being charged with espionage, which is a ridiculous charge.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LONDON) — The Wall Street Journal reporter detained in Russia is scheduled to appear on Tuesday in Moscow City Court, where his legal team is expected to appeal an August decision to extend his pre-trial detention.

Evan Gershkovich, a Moscow correspondent with the paper, has been detained on spying charges since March, when Russian officials accused him of collecting state secrets about the military.

A judge in Lefortovo Court in Moscow had extended the journalist’s pre-trial detention until Nov. 30.

The hearing on Tuesday is expected to be held behind closed doors, as the case contains classified materials, the court’s press service said.

The correspondent was arrested by Russia’s Federal Security Service, known as the FSB, on March 29 in Yekaterinburg, Russia.

Gershkovich’s parents and sister appeared earlier this month at the United Nations, joining U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield in asking member states to declare the reporter’s detention illegal.

WSJ lawyers filed a petition asking U.N. members to condemn his imprisonment.

“No family should have to watch their loved one being used as a political pawn,” Thomas-Greenfield said. “And that’s exactly what President Putin is doing.”

She said Russia’s actions were “beyond cruel” and a “violation of international law.”

President Joe Biden, who spoke with Gershkovich’s family in April, has said the detention was “totally illegal.”

State department officials said the U.S. determined the journalist had been “wrongfully detained.”

The House of Representatives in June unanimously passed a resolution calling for the immediate release of Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, another American being held in Russia.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — The United Nations has revised its death toll from disastrous floods in eastern Libya after conflicting information from different government officials and aid agencies — a sign of the chaotic response on the ground in a divided country.

As of Monday evening, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the number of fatalities was 3,958 and that more than 9,000 people remain missing.

The Libyan Red Crescent previously reported that 11,300 people had died from the flooding in eastern Libya, and the U.N. was originally using that figure but changed course on Sunday to instead go with the World Health Organization’s estimate of 3,958 deaths.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said it was difficult to provide an exact tally of casualties.

“We don’t want to speculate about the numbers,” ICRC spokesperson Bashir Saleh told ABC News on Monday. “We don’t have the final figures. I think we need to wait for the rescue operations to end and then we would have the final figures.”

Eastern Libya’s Health Minister Othman Abduljaleel said at least 3,283 bodies were buried as of Sunday night without specifying how many had been recovered in total. He said the death toll was “on the rise every day” and that “many bodies remain in the sea or under the rubble.”

The death toll has been a moving target since Mediterranean storm Daniel pummelled Libya on Sept. 10, triggering widespread flooding that broke dams and swept away entire neighborhoods along the coast in the east of the North African nation. Rescuers have been working to understand the full scope of the devastation ever since, but their efforts have been hindered by the country’s current political situation.

Libya has lacked a central government since 2011, when an Arab Spring uprising backed by NATO toppled longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who was later killed. The oil-rich nation is now split between two warring governments — one in the east and the other in the west, with each backed by various militias.

The head of the U.N.’s World Meteorological Organization, Petteri Taalas, said last Thursday that most of the flooding casualties could have been avoided if Libya had a functioning meteorological service.

Hundreds of people took part in a protest at a mosque in flood-stricken Derna on Monday, demanding that local authorities be held accountable. The northeastern port city was the worst affected and has been declared a disaster zone.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Canadian national security agencies are investigating “credible allegations” that “agents of the government of India” were involved in the death of a Canadian Sikh leader in June, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday.

Trudeau said that steps are being taken to hold the people accountable behind the death of prominent Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia.

“Canada is a rule of law country, the protection of our citizens in [defense] of our sovereignty are fundamental,” Trudeau said in a statement addressing the House of Commons. “Our top priorities have therefore been one, that our law enforcement and security agencies ensure the continued safety of all Canadians.”

Melany Joly, Canada’s foreign affairs minister, announced the country will oust a “key Indian diplomat” and anticipated India to “fully collaborate” with Canada to get answers, according to CTV News.

Nijjar advocated for the creation of Khalistan, an independent Sikh homeland in India’s Punjab region, according to CTV News.

Sikhs in Canada protested over Nijjar’s death, accusing the Indian government of being behind the slaying, according to CTV News.

Early Tuesday morning from New Dehli, the Indian government released a statement saying they “reject” the statement from Trudeau.

“Allegations of Government of India’s involvement in any act of violence in Canada are absurd and motivated,” the statement read. “Similar allegations were made by the Canadian Prime Minister to our Prime Minister, and were completely rejected. We are a democratic polity with a strong commitment to rule of law.”

As their statement continued, India asked Canada to take action.

“We urge the Government of Canada to take prompt and effective legal action against all anti-India elements operating from their soil,” their statement concluded.

Trudeau told the House of Commons he brought his concerns directly to India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi at last week’s G-20 summit in New Delhi.

“Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty,” Trudeau said.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(TEHRAN, Iran) — The plane carrying five American citizens freed as part of a deal between the U.S. and Iran has now landed back home in the United States.

The repatriated Americans include Siamak Namazi, Emad Shargi and Morad Tahbaz, as well as two others who asked that their identity not be made public. All five have been designated as wrongfully detained by the U.S. government.

Tahbaz’s wife, Vida, and Namazi’s mother, Effie, were also allowed to leave Iran in the arrangement, according to a U.S. official. Unlike the other five, they had not been jailed by the Iranian regime but had previously been barred from leaving the country.

In a statement on Monday, President Joe Biden said, “Today, five innocent Americans who were imprisoned in Iran are finally coming home.”

“Siamak Namazi, Morad Tahbaz, Emad Sharghi, and two citizens who wish to remain private will soon be reunited with their loved ones — after enduring years of agony, uncertainty, and suffering,” he said. “I am grateful to our partners at home and abroad for their tireless efforts to help us achieve this outcome, including the Governments of Qatar, Oman, Switzerland, and South Korea.

“I give special thanks to the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, and to the Sultan of Oman, Haitham bin Tariq, both of whom helped facilitate this agreement over many months of difficult and principled American diplomacy,” he said.

Secretary of State Blinken, speaking in New York, said that he had the “great pleasure” of having an “emotional conversation” with the Americans after they landed in Doha, saying it was a good reminder of the “human element that’s at the heart of everything we do.”

He also noted that American Bob Levinson still remains unaccounted for more than 16 years after what Blinken said was his abduction in Iran.

“We are also thinking of Bob Levinson who … is presumed to be deceased. Bob’s legacy lives on powerfully in the Levinson Act which is giving us new and powerful tools to crack down and deter the practice of taking Americans unlawfully to try to turn them into political pawns, and to abuse the international system in that way,” he said.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry first announced the U.S. nationals would be imminently released early Monday morning, fulfilling a deal struck between Washington and Tehran last month, where the U.S. promised to grant clemency to five Iranians and to facilitate Iran’s access to roughly $6 billion in frozen oil revenue on the condition the money be put toward humanitarian purposes.

The seven will be transported via a Qatari aircraft to Doha. From there, U.S. officials say they plan to depart “as quickly as possible” for the Washington, D.C., area, where they will be reunited with their families and the Department of Defense will be on hand to assist families “that might request help for their recovery and integration to normal life.”

The five Iranians involved in the trade have either been charged with or convicted of nonviolent offenses. Two do not have legal standing to stay in the U.S. and will be transported by U.S. Marshals Service to Doha and then travel on to Iran.

Two more are lawful permanent residents of the U.S., and one is a dual Iranian American citizen. Administration officials did not say whether they would remain the U.S.

The five detained Americans all served time in Iran’s notorious Evin prison but were placed on house arrest when Tehran and Washington reached a deal-in-principle.

Namazi, 51, is an oil executive and an Iranian-American dual nationalist. He was first detained in 2015 and was subsequently sentenced to 10 years in prison after a conviction on “collaboration with a hostile government” for his ties to the United States.

Shargi, a 58-year-old businessman, was detained without explanation in 2018 and released in 2019 before he was re-arrested in 2020 and handed down a 10-year sentence on an espionage charge.

Tahbaz, 67, is an Iranian-American conservationist who also holds British citizenship. He was arrested in 2018 and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Blinken signed off on a broad sanctions waiver last week, clearing the way for international banks to transfer the roughly $6 billion in Iran oil revenue in exchange for Iran’s release of the five detained American citizens.

The $6 billion is coming from a restricted account in South Korea, where it was effectively frozen when the U.S. reinstated sanctions against Tehran after former President Donald Trump left the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran’s nuclear program and will be transferred to Qatar with restrictions on how Iran can spend the funds.

Iran expected to begin receiving its frozen assets on Monday, Nasser Kanaani, a spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said, adding that “active foreign policy” had led to the funds being unblocked.

“Today this asset will be delivered,” Kanaani said. “It will be invested where needed.”

Republicans blasted the planned swap in the days after the initial announcement.

“The Americans held by Iran are innocent hostages who must be released immediately and unconditionally. However, I remain deeply concerned that the administration’s decision to waive sanctions to facilitate the transfer of $6 billion in funds for Iran, the world’s top state sponsor of terrorism, creates a direct incentive for America’s adversaries to conduct future hostage-taking,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Mike McCaul said in a statement.

But National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby insisted during a press briefing Wednesday that “Iran will be getting no sanctions relief.”

“It’s Iranian money that had been established in these accounts to allow some trade from foreign countries on things like Iranian oil. … It’s not a blank check. They don’t get to spend it anyway they want. It’s not $6 billion all at once. They will have to make a request for withdrawals for humanitarian purposes only,” he said, adding that there will be “sufficient oversight to make sure that the request is valid.”

The Iranian people will be the beneficiaries of the funds, not the regime, according to Kirby.

Pressed on why the $6 billion needed to be released in addition to the five Iranian prisoners, Kirby said, “This is the deal we were able to strike to secure the release of five Americans.”

“We’re comfortable in the parameters of this deal. I’ve heard the critics that somehow they’re getting the better end of it. Ask the families of those five Americans who’s getting the better end of it and I think you’d get a different answer,” he said.

When asked about Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s claim that the money is “fungible,” Kirby said, “He’s wrong. He’s just flat-out wrong.”

Kirby said the funds in this agreement are “not a payment of any kind” and “not ransom” to secure the release of the Americans, responding to Republican complaints.

“Expect this money to free up revenues internally for more foreign aggression and domestic suppression. And certainly, at over one billion dollars per hostage and a jailed Iranian national” said Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “Expect Tehran to continue if not step up its hostage taking.”

“As Chairman of the [Republican Study Committee], we will use all legislative options to reverse this agreement and prevent further ransom payments and sanctions relief to Iran,” Rep. Kevin Hern tweeted Tuesday.

Kanaani, the Iranian spokesperson, said only two of the Iranians who were expected to be released from American prisons were willing to return to Iran.

“Two of [Iranian] citizens will willingly return to Iran based, one person joins his family in a third country, and the other two citizens want to stay in America,” Kanaani said.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(TEHRAN, Iran)– Five American citizens freed as part of a deal between the U.S. and Iran were flown out of the country and arrived in Doha, Qatar, Monday before boarding a flight to the U.S. later in the day.

The Americans being repatriated include Siamak Namazi, Emad Shargi and Morad Tahbaz, as well as two others who asked that their identity not be made public. All five have been designated as wrongfully detained by U.S. government.

Tahbaz’s wife, Vida, and Namazi’s mother, Effie, were also allowed to leave Iran in the arrangement, according to a U.S. official. Unlike the other five, they had not been jailed by the Iranian regime but had previously been barred from leaving the country.

In a statement, President Joe Biden said, “Today, five innocent Americans who were imprisoned in Iran are finally coming home.”

“Siamak Namazi, Morad Tahbaz, Emad Sharghi, and two citizens who wish to remain private will soon be reunited with their loved ones — after enduring years of agony, uncertainty, and suffering,” he said. “I am grateful to our partners at home and abroad for their tireless efforts to help us achieve this outcome, including the Governments of Qatar, Oman, Switzerland, and South Korea.

“I give special thanks to the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, and to the Sultan of Oman, Haitham bin Tariq, both of whom helped facilitate this agreement over many months of difficult and principled American diplomacy,” he said.

Secretary of State Blinken, speaking in New York, said that he had the “great pleasure” of having an “emotional conversation” with the Americans after they landed in Doha, saying it was a good reminder of the “human element that’s at the heart of everything we do.”

He also noted that American Bob Levinson still remains unaccounted for more than 16 years after what Blinken said was his abduction in Iran.

“We are also thinking of Bob Levinson who … is presumed to be deceased. Bob’s legacy lives on powerfully in the Levinson Act which is giving us new and powerful tools to crack down and deter the practice of taking Americans unlawfully to try to turn them into political pawns, and to abuse the international system in that way,” he said.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry first announced the U.S. nationals would be imminently released early Monday morning, fulfilling a deal struck between Washington and Tehran last month, where the U.S. promised to grant clemency to five Iranians and to facilitate Iran’s access to roughly $6 billion in frozen oil revenue on the condition the money be put toward humanitarian purposes.

The seven will be transported via a Qatari aircraft to Doha. From there, U.S. officials say they plan to depart “as quickly as possible” for the Washington, D.C., area, where they will be reunited with their families and the Department of Defense will be on hand to assist families “that might request help for their recovery and integration to normal life.”

The five Iranians involved in the trade have either been charged with or convicted of nonviolent offenses. Two do not have legal standing to stay in the U.S. and will be transported by U.S. Marshals Service to Doha and then travel on to Iran.

Two more are lawful permanent residents of the U.S., and one is a dual Iranian American citizen. Administration officials did not say whether they would remain the U.S.

The five detained Americans all served time in Iran’s notorious Evin prison but were placed on house arrest when Tehran and Washington reached a deal-in-principle.

Namazi, 51, is an oil executive and an Iranian-American dual nationalist. He was first detained in 2015 and was subsequently sentenced to 10 years in prison after a conviction on “collaboration with a hostile government” for his ties to the United States.

Shargi, a 58-year-old businessman, was detained without explanation in 2018 and released in 2019 before he was re-arrested in 2020 and handed down a 10-year sentence on an espionage charge.

Tahbaz, 67, is an Iranian-American conservationist who also holds British citizenship. He was arrested in 2018 and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Blinken signed off on a broad sanctions waiver last week, clearing the way for international banks to transfer the roughly $6 billion in Iran oil revenue in exchange for Iran’s release of the five detained American citizens.

The $6 billion is coming from a restricted account in South Korea, where it was effectively frozen when the U.S. reinstated sanctions against Tehran after former President Donald Trump left the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran’s nuclear program and will be transferred to Qatar with restrictions on how Iran can spend the funds.

Iran expected to begin receiving its frozen assets on Monday, Nasser Kanaani, a spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said, adding that “active foreign policy” had led to the funds being unblocked.

“Today this asset will be delivered,” Kanaani said. “It will be invested where needed.”

Republicans blasted the planned swap in the days after the initial announcement.

“The Americans held by Iran are innocent hostages who must be released immediately and unconditionally. However, I remain deeply concerned that the administration’s decision to waive sanctions to facilitate the transfer of $6 billion in funds for Iran, the world’s top state sponsor of terrorism, creates a direct incentive for America’s adversaries to conduct future hostage-taking,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Mike McCaul said in a statement.

But National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby insisted during a press briefing Wednesday that “Iran will be getting no sanctions relief.”

“It’s Iranian money that had been established in these accounts to allow some trade from foreign countries on things like Iranian oil. … It’s not a blank check. They don’t get to spend it anyway they want. It’s not $6 billion all at once. They will have to make a request for withdrawals for humanitarian purposes only,” he said, adding that there will be “sufficient oversight to make sure that the request is valid.”

The Iranian people will be the beneficiaries of the funds, not the regime, according to Kirby.

Pressed on why the $6 billion needed to be released in addition to the five Iranian prisoners, Kirby said, “This is the deal we were able to strike to secure the release of five Americans.”

“We’re comfortable in the parameters of this deal. I’ve heard the critics that somehow they’re getting the better end of it. Ask the families of those five Americans who’s getting the better end of it and I think you’d get a different answer,” he said.

When asked about Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s claim that the money is “fungible,” Kirby said, “He’s wrong. He’s just flat-out wrong.”

Kirby said the funds in this agreement are “not a payment of any kind” and “not ransom” to secure the release of the Americans, responding to Republican complaints.

“Expect this money to free up revenues internally for more foreign aggression and domestic suppression. And certainly, at over one billion dollars per hostage and a jailed Iranian national” said Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “Expect Tehran to continue if not step up its hostage taking.”

“As Chairman of the [Republican Study Committee], we will use all legislative options to reverse this agreement and prevent further ransom payments and sanctions relief to Iran,” Rep. Kevin Hern tweeted Tuesday.

Kanaani, the Iranian spokesperson, said only two of the Iranians who were expected to be released from American prisons were willing to return to Iran.

“Two of [Iranian] citizens will willingly return to Iran based, one person joins his family in a third country, and the other two citizens want to stay in America,” Kanaani said.

ABC News’ Benjamin Gittleson contributed to this report.

 

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(TEHRAN, Iran)–

Five American citizens freed as part of a deal between the U.S. and Iran were flown out of the country and landed in Doha, Qatar, Monday.

Later Monday, they will be flown back to the U.S.

The Americans being repatriated include Siamak Namazi, Emad Shargi and Morad Tahbaz, as well as two others who asked that their identity not be made public. All five have been designated as wrongfully detained by U.S. government.

Tahbaz’s wife, Vida, and Namazi’s mother, Effie, were also allowed to leave Iran in the arrangement, according to a U.S. official. Unlike the other five, they had not been jailed by the Iranian regime but had previously been barred from leaving the country.

In a statement, President Joe Biden said, “Today, five innocent Americans who were imprisoned in Iran are finally coming home.”

“Siamak Namazi, Morad Tahbaz, Emad Sharghi, and two citizens who wish to remain private will soon be reunited with their loved ones — after enduring years of agony, uncertainty, and suffering,” he said. “I am grateful to our partners at home and abroad for their tireless efforts to help us achieve this outcome, including the Governments of Qatar, Oman, Switzerland, and South Korea.

“I give special thanks to the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, and to the Sultan of Oman, Haitham bin Tariq, both of whom helped facilitate this agreement over many months of difficult and principled American diplomacy,” he said.

Secretary of State Blinken, speaking in New York, said that he had the “great pleasure” of having an “emotional conversation” with the Americans after they landed in Doha, saying it was a good reminder of the “human element that’s at the heart of everything we do.”

He also noted that American Bob Levinson still remains unaccounted for more than 16 years after what Blinken said was his abduction in Iran.

“We are also thinking of Bob Levinson who … is presumed to be deceased. Bob’s legacy lives on powerfully in the Levinson Act which is giving us new and powerful tools to crack down and deter the practice of taking Americans unlawfully to try to turn them into political pawns, and to abuse the international system in that way,” he said.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry first announced the U.S. nationals would be imminently released early Monday morning, fulfilling a deal struck between Washington and Tehran last month, where the U.S. promised to grant clemency to five Iranians and to facilitate Iran’s access to roughly $6 billion in frozen oil revenue on the condition the money be put toward humanitarian purposes.

The seven will be transported via a Qatari aircraft to Doha. From there, U.S. officials say they plan to depart “as quickly as possible” for the Washington, D.C., area, where they will be reunited with their families and the Department of Defense will be on hand to assist families “that might request help for their recovery and integration to normal life.”

The five Iranians involved in the trade have either been charged with or convicted of nonviolent offenses. Two do not have legal standing to stay in the U.S. and will be transported by U.S. Marshals Service to Doha and then travel on to Iran.

Two more are lawful permanent residents of the U.S., and one is a dual Iranian American citizen. Administration officials did not say whether they would remain the U.S.

The five detained Americans all served time in Iran’s notorious Evin prison but were placed on house arrest when Tehran and Washington reached a deal-in-principle.

Namazi, 51, is an oil executive and an Iranian-American dual nationalist. He was first detained in 2015 and was subsequently sentenced to 10 years in prison after a conviction on “collaboration with a hostile government” for his ties to the United States.

Shargi, a 58-year-old businessman, was detained without explanation in 2018 and released in 2019 before he was re-arrested in 2020 and handed down a 10-year sentence on an espionage charge.

Tahbaz, 67, is an Iranian-American conservationist who also holds British citizenship. He was arrested in 2018 and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed off on a blanket waiver of U.S. sanctions that paved the way for international banks to allow the transfer of roughly $6 billion in Iran oil revenue in exchange for Iran’s release of the five detained American citizens.

The $6 billion is coming from a restricted account in South Korea, where it was effectively frozen when the U.S. reinstated sanctions against Tehran after former President Donald Trump left the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran’s nuclear program and will be transferred to Qatar with restrictions on how Iran can spend the funds.

Iran expected to begin receiving its frozen assets on Monday, Nasser Kanaani, a spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said, adding that “active foreign policy” had led to the funds being unblocked.

“Today this asset will be delivered,” Kanaani said. “It will be invested where needed.”

Republicans blasted the planned swap in the days after the initial announcement.

“The Americans held by Iran are innocent hostages who must be released immediately and unconditionally. However, I remain deeply concerned that the administration’s decision to waive sanctions to facilitate the transfer of $6 billion in funds for Iran, the world’s top state sponsor of terrorism, creates a direct incentive for America’s adversaries to conduct future hostage-taking,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Mike McCaul said in a statement.

But National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby insisted during a press briefing Wednesday that “Iran will be getting no sanctions relief.”

“It’s Iranian money that had been established in these accounts to allow some trade from foreign countries on things like Iranian oil. … It’s not a blank check. They don’t get to spend it anyway they want. It’s not $6 billion all at once. They will have to make a request for withdrawals for humanitarian purposes only,” he said, adding that there will be “sufficient oversight to make sure that the request is valid.”

The Iranian people will be the beneficiaries of the funds, not the regime, according to Kirby.

Pressed on why the $6 billion needed to be released in addition to the five Iranian prisoners, Kirby said, “This is the deal we were able to strike to secure the release of five Americans.”

“We’re comfortable in the parameters of this deal. I’ve heard the critics that somehow they’re getting the better end of it. Ask the families of those five Americans who’s getting the better end of it and I think you’d get a different answer,” he said.

When asked about Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s claim that the money is “fungible,” Kirby said, “He’s wrong. He’s just flat-out wrong.”

Kirby said the funds in this agreement are “not a payment of any kind” and “not ransom” to secure the release of the Americans, responding to Republican complaints.

“As Chairman of the [Republican Study Committee], we will use all legislative options to reverse this agreement and prevent further ransom payments and sanctions relief to Iran,” Rep. Kevin Hern tweeted Tuesday.

Kanaani, the Iranian spokesperson, said only two of the Iranians who were expected to be released from American prisons were willing to return to Iran.

“Two of [Iranian] citizens will willingly return to Iran based, one person joins his family in a third country, and the other two citizens want to stay in America,” Kanaani said.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

 

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(TEHRAN, Iran)– The U.S. has received confirmation that five American citizens freed as part of a deal between the U.S. and Iran are now on a plane headed out of the country to Doha, Qatar, a senior Biden administration official said Monday.

Later Monday, they will be flown back to the U.S.

The Americans being repatriated include Siamak Namazi, Emad Shargi and Morad Tahbaz, as well as two others who asked that their identity not be made public. All five have been designated as wrongfully detained by U.S. government.

Tahbaz’s wife, Vida, and Namazi’s mother, Effie, were also allowed to leave Iran in the arrangement, according to a U.S. official. Unlike the other five, they had not been jailed by the Iranian regime but had previously been barred from leaving the country.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry first announced the U.S. nationals would be imminently released early Monday morning, fulfilling a deal struck between Washington and Tehran last month, where the U.S. promised to grant clemency to five Iranians and to facilitate Iran’s access to roughly $6 billion in frozen oil revenue on the condition the money be put toward humanitarian purposes.

The seven will be transported via a Qatari aircraft to Doha. From there, U.S. officials say they plan to depart “as quickly as possible” for the Washington, D.C., area, where they will be reunited with their families and the Department of Defense will be on hand to assist families “that might request help for their recovery and integration to normal life.”

The five Iranians involved in the trade have either been charged with or convicted of nonviolent offenses. Two do not have legal standing to stay in the U.S. and will be transported by U.S. Marshals Service to Doha and then travel on to Iran.

Two more are lawful permanent residents of the U.S., and one is a dual Iranian American citizen. Administration officials did not say whether they would remain the U.S.

The five detained Americans all served time in Iran’s notorious Evin prison but were placed on house arrest when Tehran and Washington reached a deal-in-principle.

Namazi, 51, is an oil executive and an Iranian-American dual nationalist. He was first detained in 2015 and was subsequently sentenced to 10 years in prison after a conviction on “collaboration with a hostile government” for his ties to the United States.

Shargi, a 58-year-old businessman, was detained without explanation in 2018 and released in 2019 before he was re-arrested in 2020 and handed down a 10-year sentence on an espionage charge.

Tahbaz, 67, is an Iranian-American conservationist who also holds British citizenship. He was arrested in 2018 and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed off on a blanket waiver of U.S. sanctions that paved the way for international banks to allow the transfer of roughly $6 billion in Iran oil revenue in exchange for Iran’s release of the five detained American citizens.

The $6 billion is coming from a restricted account in South Korea, where it was effectively frozen when the U.S. reinstated sanctions against Tehran after former President Donald Trump left the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran’s nuclear program and will be transferred to Qatar with restrictions on how Iran can spend the funds.

Iran expected to begin receiving its frozen assets on Monday, Nasser Kanaani, a spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said, adding that “active foreign policy” had led to the funds being unblocked.

“Today this asset will be delivered,” Kanaani said. “It will be invested where needed.”

Republicans blasted the planned swap in the days after the initial announcement.

“The Americans held by Iran are innocent hostages who must be released immediately and unconditionally. However, I remain deeply concerned that the administration’s decision to waive sanctions to facilitate the transfer of $6 billion in funds for Iran, the world’s top state sponsor of terrorism, creates a direct incentive for America’s adversaries to conduct future hostage-taking,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Mike McCaul said in a statement.

But National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby insisted during a press briefing Wednesday that “Iran will be getting no sanctions relief.”

“It’s Iranian money that had been established in these accounts to allow some trade from foreign countries on things like Iranian oil. … It’s not a blank check. They don’t get to spend it anyway they want. It’s not $6 billion all at once. They will have to make a request for withdrawals for humanitarian purposes only,” he said, adding that there will be “sufficient oversight to make sure that the request is valid.”

The Iranian people will be the beneficiaries of the funds, not the regime, according to Kirby.

Pressed on why the $6 billion needed to be released in addition to the five Iranian prisoners, Kirby said, “This is the deal we were able to strike to secure the release of five Americans.”

“We’re comfortable in the parameters of this deal. I’ve heard the critics that somehow they’re getting the better end of it. Ask the families of those five Americans who’s getting the better end of it and I think you’d get a different answer,” he said.

When asked about Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s claim that the money is “fungible,” Kirby said, “He’s wrong. He’s just flat-out wrong.”

Kirby said the funds in this agreement are “not a payment of any kind” and “not ransom” to secure the release of the Americans, responding to Republican complaints.

“As Chairman of the [Republican Study Committee], we will use all legislative options to reverse this agreement and prevent further ransom payments and sanctions relief to Iran,” Rep. Kevin Hern tweeted Tuesday.

Kanaani, the Iranian spokesperson, said only two of the Iranians who were expected to be released from American prisons were willing to return to Iran.

“Two of [Iranian] citizens will willingly return to Iran based, one person joins his family in a third country, and the other two citizens want to stay in America,” Kanaani said.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(TEHRAN, Iran) — Five Americans detained in Iran will be freed on Monday as part of a prisoner swap, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

The detained U.S. citizens being repatriated include Siamak Namazi, Emad Shargi and Morad Tahbaz, as well as two others who asked that their identity not be made public.

Namazi, 51, is an oil executive and an Iranian-American dual nationalist. He was first detained in 2015 and was subsequently sentenced to 10 years in prison after a conviction on “collaboration with a hostile government” for his ties to the United States.

Shargi, a 58-year-old businessman, was detained without explanation in 2018 and released in 2019 before he was re-arrested in 2020 and handed down a 10-year sentence on an espionage charge.

Tahbaz, 67, is an Iranian-American conservationist who also holds British citizenship. He was arrested in 2018 and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed off on a blanket waiver of U.S. sanctions that paved the way for international banks to allow the transfer of roughly $6 billion in Iran oil revenue in exchange for Iran’s release of the five detained American citizens.

The $6 billion is coming from a restricted account in South Korea, where it was effectively frozen when the U.S. reinstated sanctions against Tehran after former President Donald Trump left the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran’s nuclear program and will be transferred to Qatar with restrictions on how Iran can spend the funds.

Iran expects to begin receiving its frozen assets on Monday, Nasser Kanaani, a spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said, adding that “active foreign policy” had led to the funds being unblocked.

“Today this asset will be delivered,” Kanaani said. “It will be invested where needed.”

Five Iranian detainees will also be released from American prisons as part of the deal, Kanaani said.

Republicans blasted the planned swap in the days after the initial announcement.

“The Americans held by Iran are innocent hostages who must be released immediately and unconditionally. However, I remain deeply concerned that the administration’s decision to waive sanctions to facilitate the transfer of $6 billion in funds for Iran, the world’s top state sponsor of terrorism, creates a direct incentive for America’s adversaries to conduct future hostage-taking,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Mike McCaul said in a statement.

But National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby insisted during a press briefing Wednesday that “Iran will be getting no sanctions relief.”

“It’s Iranian money that had been established in these accounts to allow some trade from foreign countries on things like Iranian oil. … It’s not a blank check. They don’t get to spend it anyway they want. It’s not $6 billion all at once. They will have to make a request for withdrawals for humanitarian purposes only,” he said, adding that there will be “sufficient oversight to make sure that the request is valid.”

The Iranian people will be the beneficiaries of the funds, not the regime, according to Kirby.

Pressed on why the $6 billion needed to be released in addition to the five Iranian prisoners, Kirby said, “This is the deal we were able to strike to secure the release of five Americans.”

“We’re comfortable in the parameters of this deal. I’ve heard the critics that somehow they’re getting the better end of it. Ask the families of those five Americans who’s getting the better end of it and I think you’d get a different answer,” he said.

When asked about Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s claim that the money is “fungible,” Kirby said, “He’s wrong. He’s just flat-out wrong.”

Kirby said the funds in this agreement are “not a payment of any kind” and “not ransom” to secure the release of the Americans, responding to Republican complaints.

“As Chairman of the [Republican Study Committee], we will use all legislative options to reverse this agreement and prevent further ransom payments and sanctions relief to Iran,” Rep. Kevin Hern tweeted Tuesday.

Kanaani, the Iranian spokesperson, said only two of the Iranians who were expected to be released from American prisons were willing to return to Iran.

“Two of [Iranian] citizens will willingly return to Iran based, one person joins his family in a third country, and the other two citizens want to stay in America,” Kanaani said.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.