World

(NEW YORK) — Ocean cleanup crews have fished out the most trash ever taken from one of the largest garbage patches in the world.

The Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit environmental engineering organization, saw its largest extraction earlier this month by removing about 25,000 pounds of trash from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Alex Tobin, head of public relations and media for the organization, told ABC News.

The vessels are currently on the way back to port in Victoria, British Columbia, after having collected about 50 tons of garbage in four weeks, Tobin said.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, an enormous pile of floating trash carried by ocean currents and winds to the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and California, is the largest of the world’s five ocean garbage patches.

It is difficult to determine an exact size, as the trash is constantly moving, according to NOAA. The Ocean Cleanup has estimated the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to have grown to twice the size of the state of Texas, Tobin said.

The patch in the Pacific has grown so much that a new coastal ecosystem is thriving on it, a study published by Nature Ecology & Evolution in April found.

Garbage patches pose dangers to the local ecosystem by entangling marine life in fishing nets, animals eating plastic and other debris and by transporting non-native species from foreign habitats, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

It is unclear how garbage patches affect human health, but humans may be exposed to microplastics from a number of sources from the ocean, such as seafood and sea salt, according to NOAA.

It may not be possible to entirely rid the ocean’s garbage patches of trash, especially since some of the material will take a long time to break down in the environment, according to NOAA. Plastics may never fully break down.

The Ocean Cleanup’s aim is to remove 90% of floating plastic from the oceans by 2040, which they believe is achievable, Tobin said.

The nonprofit has a two-pronged approach of removing “legacy plastics” and debris before the UV rays break the material down into microplastics, which are nearly impossible to collect. One of the most remarkable items they have pulled is a Vietnam War-era canteen. Other common materials are rigid plastics that float into the ocean and fishing nets, Tobin said.

The system involves two vessels that have a device that skims the water to collect all of the debris.

The environmental group is also working to clear the rivers that feed into the oceans of trash as well to ensure they are able to clean as much as possible.

“Our goal is to kind of put ourselves out of business,” Tobin said. “We don’t want to be doing this forever and ever.”

By the end of the month, The Ocean Cleanup will launch System 03, a larger version of its current system of floating barriers. Its predecessor, System 02, which was utilized in the most recent mission, is about 875 yards long. The new replacement measures at about 2,400 yards long, which will lead to much bigger and more successful catches, Tobin said.

System 03 is capable of clearing the size of a football field every five seconds, about twice the speed of the current system, Tobin said.

The nonprofit has also been using artificial intelligence computational modeling to locate where the most plastic is in the ocean — a method they named “plastic hotspot modeling.”

“It’s sad that there’s so much out there, but we’re very happy that we now have developed a system that is tackling this more and more effectively,” Tobin said.

During the week-long journey from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch back to port, the trash gets sorted on the ship, and the nonprofit recycles as much material as possible.

The nonprofit then works with partners worldwide to ensure that the products made with the recycled plastic are not ones that will end up back in oceans or rivers, Tobin said, adding that one of those partnerships is with a Korean car manufacturer that uses the plastics in the construction of electric vehicles.

“We just want to make sure it doesn’t end up back where we found it,” Tobin said.

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(WASHINGTON) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke over the phone with Paul Whelan, a wrongfully imprisoned American citizen who has been jailed by Moscow since 2018, according to sources familiar with the call.

A source said that during their conversation on Wednesday, Blinken reassured Whelan, who is currently being held in a remote prison camp in Russia, that U.S. officials were doing everything possible to secure his freedom.

Whelan was also able to call his parents after speaking with Blinken, and relayed to them that he had “long, frank conversation” with the secretary, his brother David said.

The call marks the second time Blinken has spoken to Whelan during his nearly five years in detention.

Whelan is one of just two American citizens held by Russia known to be classified as unjustly detained by the U.S. government. The other is Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in March and accused of espionage. Gershkovich has pleaded not guilty and the Wall Street Journal has vehemently denied the allegations, calling the charges “categorically false” in April.

Blinken also revealed in March that the Biden administration had made a “serious proposal” to Russia for Whelan’s release. But sources say that Moscow has yet to engage in any serious negotiations.

The Biden administration also attempted to bring Whelan home in negotiations that ultimately led to two separate prisoner swaps in 2018.

One exchange saw the U.S. free Konstantin Yaroshenko, a convicted drug smuggler, for former Marine Trevor Reed. In the second, the Biden administration traded Viktor Bout, a notorious Russian arms dealer, for WNBA star Brittney Griner.

In both deals, U.S. officials say they were forced to leave Whelan out of the agreement in order to free the other detainee.

Whelan, via his family, has previously expressed feelings of abandonment and concern that the U.S. will again choose to free another American detainee instead of him, according to his family.

In April, Whelan told CNN in a phone interview that he had received assurances that he would not be left behind.

“I have been told that I won’t be left behind, and I have been told that although Evan’s case is a priority, mine is also a priority,” Whelan said at the time, according to CNN. “I feel that my life shouldn’t be considered less valuable or important than others who have been previously traded.”

Whelan is currently serving a 16-year sentence on espionage charges he and the American government say are fabricated.

After spending 18 months in pre-trial detention, Whelan was convicted by a Russian court in June of 2020 and transferred to Mordovia, a region about 300 miles east of Moscow known for its network of prisons, where he remains to this day.

ABC’s Cindy Smith contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — Scientists are beginning to better understand the consequences of melting glaciers on humans, species of all kinds and the ecosystem in which they live.

Glaciers are disappearing all over the world due to climate change, and the Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world. Under a high-emissions scenario, half of the area covered by glaciers outside the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets could disappear by the end of the century — a retreat the size of Nepal and Finland, according to a study published in Nature on Wednesday.

If greenhouse gas emissions are not severely reduced, shifting of the glaciers will come “quite fast,” prompting a rapid ecological shift as well, Nicolas Lecomte, research chair in Polar and Boreal Ecology and professor of biology at the University of Moncton in New Brunswick, Canada, who peer-reviewed the paper, said.

As the glaciers retreat, they could give way to new, “novel” ecosystems with emerging habitats that welcome cold-adapted species from regions farther south that become too warm for them to survive but also kill off species that rely on the ice and frigid atmosphere, Lecomte told ABC News.

The glaciers themselves house habitats for wildlife, including for microorganisms that are unique to individual glaciers, Lecomte said.

The species living near glaciers could become extinct, as scientists anticipate significant loss of species and decline of populations, Lecomte said.

“In places like the Alps in Europe or in the Himalayas, where you have this pocket left of what a cold climate can be, these species are kind of stuck and cannot move much,” Lecomte said. “So these are places where the warming would be completely out of phase with their adaptation and evolution.”

Other cold-adapted species displaced by warming else will be able to seek refuge in these new ecosystems. But it is a “very narrow range” of species who will be able to relocate, such as mammals and birds that have “room to move around,” Lecomte said.

And they will need ample time to do so, Lecomte said, adding that the migration will not occur as rapidly as the predicted warming and deglaciation.

“But it will be just a temporary shelter for them, because that place will also change over time very quickly,” he said.

The habitats left by the melting glaciers will be classified as 78% terrestrial, 14% marine and 8% freshwater, according to the study.

Humans will also be affected by disappearing glaciers, Lecomte said. In many parts of heavily populated regions, glaciers are the main water source for communities, because they feed some of the biggest rivers in the world.

Retreating glaciers will make these main water sources unstable and could also cause more catastrophic flooding events due to glacial flood lake outbursts, which recently occurred in Alaska, flooding the Mendenhall Lake and Mendenhall River and destroying homes near state’s capital.

“That is very difficult to predict, but likely to come,” Lecomte said.

The researchers used a glacier evolution model with glacier outlines, digital elevation models of subglacial terrain and climatic data to predict the response of each individual glacier to climate scenarios until 2100. The model is able to predict the characteristics of emerging ecosystems in deglaciated areas, which were classified into marine, freshwater or terrestrial categories, according to the paper.

The modeling predicts that deglaciation will occur at a similar rate until 2040, regardless of the climate scenario, the researchers found. After 2040, estimates of glacial retreat diverge depending on the severity of emission release.

Under a high-emissions scenario, in which emissions triple by 2075, about half the area covered by glaciers in 2020 glacier could be lost by 2100. The deglaciation could be curbed if emissions are curbed drastically, in which net-zero is achieved by 2050, reducing the loss to 22%, according to the paper.

In addition to limiting deglaciation, resources and focus should be given to protecting these newly forming ecosystems to secure their future, the researchers argued.

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(NEW YORK) — David Barnes, an American who has been incarcerated in Russia since the beginning of 2022, will have to wait another three weeks before he returns to a Moscow courtroom.

Barnes is facing a bench trial, accused by Russian prosecutors of abusing his two sons in Texas, even though law enforcement in the Houston area previously investigated the same allegations after they were initially raised by his ex-wife and were not able to substantiate them.

“There are still no charges in Montgomery County related to David Barnes and our office will not be involved in any trial involving David Barnes in Russia,” Kelly Blackburn of the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office in Texas told ABC News.

Facing a judge

Barnes appeared in court on Tuesday as Russian prosecutors continued to present their case, but he is not scheduled to return until Sept. 4. The prosecution is expected to wrap its arguments during the next hearing, after which time the defense testimony can begin.

The Texas resident was taken into custody in January 2022.

“There is no typical day in a Russian prison,” Barnes wrote in a letter to ABC News. “But typically, every day since January 13, 2022 has been one of mental, physical, and emotional survival.”

His arrest came close to three years after his Russian ex-wife, Svetlana Koptyaeva, allegedly violated a court judgment and took the two children out of the United States.

After Koptyaeva and the children left the country, a Texas court designated Barnes as the boys’ sole managing conservator, making him their primary guardian. However, this designation was unenforceable since the children were nowhere to be found in the U.S.

Montgomery County prosecutors ended up charging Koptyaeva with interference with child custody due to the removal of the children. She is currently wanted in Texas on a felony warrant.

Barnes says he flew to Moscow because going years without seeing his children, despite being awarded custody in his home state, was unbearable.

Koptyaeva, who Barnes’ family members say contacted Russian authorities soon after he arrived in Moscow to report the same allegations she had reported in Texas, maintains that the children were abused by Barnes in Texas. She told ABC News the justice system in the U.S. failed to keep them safe, prompting them to leave the country, and that she and her sons have passed several psychological evaluations.

In March, Koptyaeva added that her sons deserve support and respect given the allegations. She noted that she was not sure whether the children would take the stand in Moscow, but that there are video recordings of their interviews with investigators and that the boys’ recollections should be believed.

Files reviewed by ABC News show that during long and acrimonious divorce proceedings, Koptyaeva brought allegations that Barnes was abusing the children to Texas authorities. Despite a search warrant being issued and investigations taking place in response to the concerns, the Department of Family and Protective Services found insufficient evidence to support the allegations and closed the case without any findings of abuse or any charges against Barnes.

In 2017, a settlement agreement between Barnes and Koptyaeva noted in part that Koptyaeva was “to refrain from making statements, either written or oral, to any third party, alleging that … [David Barnes] … molested his minor child and/or engaged in improper sexual contact with his minor child” — though she did not waive any legal reporting duties.

Although the trial in Moscow is centered around allegations stemming from Texas, prosecutors from the Lone Star State do not have any involvement in the ongoing Russian case and say they did not know that Barnes was being held in Russia on charges in association with Texas until ABC News reached out to them for comment in 2022.

Barnes has continued maintaining his innocence.

“I came to Russia because of my overwhelming love for my boys,” Barnes said. “I wanted to set up legal visitation in Russia and to visit and resume being their loving father, which had been denied for over three years.”

However, instead of a family court where child custody decisions are made, Barnes’ courthouse visits in Russia have been to criminal court.

“The chances of this happening are slim”

The trial began in November 2022, but since testimony is not occurring on consecutive days, hearings have occurred sporadically and there have been several delays.

Unlike with many other Americans who are detained in Russia, the public and media have been prohibited from entering the courtroom during Barnes’ appearances since the allegations involve minors, but Barnes was seen by an ABC News reporter being led through the courthouse in handcuffs following Tuesday’s hearing.

“I expect the judge to see the absurdity of the allegations and to rule ‘not guilty,’ but I’m told by my attorney the chances of this happening are slim,” Barnes wrote.

Joey Reed understands what the consequences of those slim chances can result in. His son, Trevor Reed, was held in the same Russian detention center where Barnes is currently being held. After Trevor Reed was convicted, he was sentenced to a penal colony before he was able to return home through a prisoner exchange.

Joey Reed has since been in touch with the Barnes family so they can compare experiences of having a loved one detained in Russia.

“It sounds like an open and shut wrongful detention case to me,” Joey Reed said, calling on the U.S. government to take more action. “We need them to step up for David Barnes and some of these other Americans, just like they have for Trevor and Brittney Griner.”

A State Department spokesperson told ABC News their representatives in Moscow have visited Barnes six times since his arrest, with the most recent visit occurring in March. Unlike with other Americans held in Russia over the years such as Reed, Brittney Griner, or Paul Whelan, U.S. officials have not announced whether they consider Barnes to be wrongfully detained.

“We are monitoring Mr. Barnes’ case closely, and we remain in regular communication with Mr. Barnes and his family and legal team.” the State Department spokesperson added. “The Department continuously reviews the circumstances surrounding the detentions of all U.S. nationals overseas, including those in Russia, for indicators that they are wrongful.”

U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy has already visited Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter who is also detained in Russia, three times since his arrest in March. Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared Gershkovich’s detention as wrongful within weeks of his detainment.

Koptyaeva says she believes Barnes’ detention is not wrongful, while Barnes strongly disagrees and is hoping that his case does not get forgotten.

“I would implore officials in Washington to use whatever political power they have to free me and reunite me with my boys,” he wrote.

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(NEW YORK) — North Korea on Wednesday said the U.S. army private who crossed the border in July had “expressed his willingness to seek refuge” in the secretive country after becoming disillusioned with American society.

Pvt. Travis King, 23, had been deployed in South Korea and spent 47 days in a local jail after an altercation with locals, according to U.S. officials. After his release, he booked a tour of the Demilitarized Zone, during which he ran across the border.

North Korea responded early this month to questions about King, U.S. officials said at the time. The story published Tuesday in North Korea’s state media appeared to mark the country’s first public comments on King’s presence and status.

Officials in North Korea said they’ve been investigating how and why King had crossed into the country, the report said.

King is alleged to have told investigators he crossed the border because he “harbored ill feeling against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the U.S. Army,” the report said.

“He also expressed his willingness to seek refuge in the DPRK or a third country, saying that he was disillusioned at the unequal American society,” the report said.

U.S. officials weren’t able to immediately verify King’s comments, Department of Defense spokesperson Lt. Col. Martin Meiners said.

“We remain focused on his safe return,” he said. “The Department’s priority is to bring Private King home, and that we are working through all available channels to achieve that outcome.”

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(NEW YORK) — A gas station in the Russian town of Makhachkala, in the southern region of Dagestan, exploded on Monday evening, killing at least 25 and injuring dozens of others, local officials said.

Sixty-six people were being treated for injuries at hospitals, with 10 in serious condition, the health ministry said. Three children were among the dead, officials said.

Officials said the blaze appeared to have started in a nearby car before spreading to the gas station. Two of the station’s eight tanks exploded, officials said.

Photos released by Russia’s Emergency Ministry appeared to show firefighters battling a raging blaze that had engulfed a structure and several vehicles. Images released by the agency on Tuesday morning appeared to show demolition vehicles at the site, working to clear destroyed buildings.

The gas supply nearby was stopped as part of an emergency response, local officials said.

A criminal case has been initiated under the article “provision of services that do not meet the requirements for the safety of life or health of consumers, resulting in the death of two or more persons by negligence,” local officials said.

Makhachkala, which is the capital of the Dagestan region, is a port city on the Caspian Sea.

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(LONDON) — Sudan is facing the risk of “major disease outbreaks,” with medics reporting “thousands of corpses” decomposing in the streets of the Khartoum, the capital, as morgues are stretched to “breaking point,” health officials said.

Sudan has recorded a “horrifying combination of rising numbers of corpses, severe water shortages, non-functioning hygiene and sanitation services,” according to Save the Children, a nongovernmental organization.

The situation amounted to “unfortunately perfect for an outbreak of cholera and other such disease,” World Heatlh Organization spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said in a statement this week.

Doctors in the war-torn African country had previously warned that the nation’s health-care system was in danger of collapse as a combination of power and water outages, shortages of health workers and attacks on healthcare facilities by armed militias push the system to the brink.

“The result of the war and its repercussions since April15th of 2023 has led to the paralysis of the healthcare system in the country,” the Sudan Doctors’ Trade Union said. “This is what we have been warning about since the outbreak of this conflict.”

As warring generals from the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continue to exchange fire as they battle for control of the country, the U.N. has announced they are recording an increase in malnutrition cases, disease outbreaks and related deaths.

Over 300 deaths — mostly among children — were reported by the U.N. due to rising malnutrition and outbreaks of disease between 15 May and 17 July.

“We are seeing a health crisis in the making, on top of a crisis of sorrow, fear and pain,” said Dr. Bashir Kamal Eldin Hamid, health and nutrition director at Save the Children.

Since the start of the conflict in Sudan, about 80% of Sudan’s main hospitals have gone out of service, the remainder operating at partial capacity.

“As casualties increase, hospitals are closing, completely emptied of medicines and doctors, and looted of any remaining supplies,” he said.

He added, “Where hospitals are still open, they are stretched beyond capacity and nearly non-functional due to staff fatigue and a lack of supplies.”

Healthcare systems in the states of Khartoum and Darfur are most affected, Sudan Doctors’ Trade Union said.

The lives of over 8,000 patients suffering from kidney problems face may also soon face a crisis as many dialysis centres remain out of service, the remainder expected to be closed next week “unless dialysis equipment is provided urgently,” Sudan Doctors’ Trade Union announced.

Speaking to ABC News in June, Dr. Mohamed Karrar, recounted the scene when he arrived at an abandoned hospital in Khartoum that had been occupied by RSF soldiers: “When we arrived, it was empty and there was blood on the floor in the emergency room, corpses belonging to soldiers and civilians laying on the ground and on trolleys.”

At least 53 attacks on healthcare officials were recorded between April 15 and July 31, leading to the deaths of 11 healthcare staffers, the World Health Organization said.

As the conflict enters its fourth month, at least 3,000 people have been killed across the North African nation according to Sudanese government, and at least 4 million displaced.

“Despite these harrowing conditions, brave Sudanese health workers and humanitarians continue to serve as a lifeline for those in urgent need of medical care, and the United States continues to stand with the Sudanese people,” the U.S. Agency for International Development said in a statement.

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(WASHINGTON) — Five American citizens considered to be unjustly detained have all been moved into house arrest in Iran after previously being imprisoned there, U.S. officials said Thursday.

Four of the five were released from Iran’s notorious Evin prison on Thursday, according to a lawyer for one of the detainees. The fifth had been in prison but was already under house arrest as of Thursday.

The White House and State Department confirmed Thursday in separate statements that the citizens were out of prison and moved to house arrest.

The development is part of an agreement reached by Iran and the U.S., after months of quiet negotiations, that would ultimately see all five nationals released from custody and allowed to leave the country, ABC News has learned.

In exchange, Tehran would receive roughly $6 billion worth of Iranian assets held in a restricted account in South Korea.

Here’s what is known about the five American citizens: Siamak Namazi, Emad Shargi and Morad Tahbaz as well as two others, a man and a woman, who asked that their identity not be made public.

Namazi, Tahbaz, and Shargi were all accused of espionage by Iran — charges that the U.S. calls baseless.

Siamak Namazi

Namazi, 51, is an oil executive who was first detained in 2015 when he traveled to Iran on business. He was subsequently sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Siamak Namazi’s father, Baquer Namazi — a former UNICEF official — was also imprisoned by Iran in 2016 when he traveled to the country to attempt to see his son. Baquer Namazi was later released from custody but barred from leaving the country until October, when the then-85-year-old was allowed to leave Iran to seek medical treatment.

The younger Namazi was granted a furlough to see his father at this time but then forced to return to Evin prison a little more than a week later. Siamak Namazi marked the seventh anniversary of his detention in early 2023 with a seven-day hunger strike intended to urge the Biden administration to do more to free Americans imprisoned in Iran.

Morad Tahbaz

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

He was granted a two-day furlough in March, when Tehran approved the release of two other foreign nationals, but ultimately was forced to return to Evin.

Emad Shargi

Shargi, 58, was traveling in Iran with his wife in 2018 when he was detained without explanation.

Iranian authorities initially confiscated his American passport, inhibiting him from leaving the country, before re-arresting him in 2020 and handing down a 10-year sentence for espionage.

A fourth American national

Their identity and Iran’s allegations against them are still unknown. This person was arrested last year and was detained in Evin.

A fifth American national

The identity of the fifth detainee, a female, is also unknown. She was already under house arrest when the agreement was reached but had previously spent time in prison.

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(WASHINGTON) — After months of quiet negotiations, Iran and the U.S. have reached an agreement that would see five American citizens considered to be unjustly detained released from custody and allowed to leave the country, ABC News has learned.

A lawyer representing one of the detainees tells ABC News that four of the five were released from Iran’s notorious Evin prison on Thursday and are currently under house arrest in the country.

The move sets the stage for what a person familiar with the negotiations described as “a process” that — if all goes well — could ultimately see the four freed along with a fifth U.S. national who was already under house arrest and, according to the White House, had previously been held in prison.

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

A spokesperson for the White House’s National Security Council confirmed the Americans’ release in a statement. “While this is an encouraging step, these U.S. citizens … should have never been detained in the first place. We will continue to monitor their condition as closely as possible. Of course, we will not rest until they are all back home in the United States,” the spokesperson, Adrienne Watson, said.

“Negotiations for their eventual release remain ongoing and are delicate. We will, therefore, have little in the way of details to provide about the state of their house arrest or about our efforts to secure their freedom,” Watson said.

A source familiar with those talks said the U.S. is not expecting the process to unfold quickly, anticipating that it might be weeks before Tehran approves the detainees’ release from house arrest.

In a separate statement, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said, in part, “We continue to monitor these individuals’ health and welfare closely. … We continue to work diligently to bring these individuals home to their loved ones. They must be allowed to depart Iran and reunite with their loved ones as soon as possible.”

If the Americans are ultimately allowed to leave Iran, the Biden administration is expected to then approve the release of roughly $6 billion worth of Iranian assets held in a restricted account in South Korea due to U.S. sanction laws.

A source familiar with working plans said the U.S. would mandate that the money go toward humanitarian causes, although it’s not yet clear how the administration would enforce any restrictions.

The U.S. and Iran have not had formal diplomatic ties since 1980, and all official communication between the countries is conducted through indirect channels. These negotiations were brokered primarily by Oman and Qatar, with the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Switzerland also providing assistance.

A completed deal would mark an uncommon agreement in the long-standing adversarial relationship between Iran the U.S. that has only grown more contentious in recent years.

It would also be the first time Tehran has approved a mass release of U.S. detainees since early 2016, when a prisoner swap coincided with the implementation of a landmark nuclear deal.

Namazi, Tahbaz, and Shargi were all accused of espionage by Iran — charges that the U.S. calls baseless. The three have spent years behind bars in Iran’s Evin prison, infamous for its human rights abuses and as a symbol of the regime’s authoritarian power.

Namazi, 51, was detained in 2015 during a business trip to Iran. When his father, Baquer Namazi, journeyed to the country to attempt to see him, Baquer Namazi was jailed, too.

The elder Namazi was later released from prison but barred from exiting the country. In October, the government finally allowed the then-85-year-old to leave Iran so he could seek medical care. Officials also granted his son a brief furlough to visit with him.

After a little more than a week, the younger Namazi was forced to return to prison. He marked the seventh anniversary of his detention in early 2023 with a seven-day hunger strike intended to urge the Biden administration to do more to free Americans imprisoned in Iran.

In a statement shared by a family representative, Namazi’s brother, Babak Namazi, said: “While this is a positive change, we will not rest until Siamak and others are back home; we continue to count the days until this can happen. We have suffered tremendously and indescribably for eight horrific years and wish only to be reunited again as a family.”

Tahbaz, 67, an Iranian American conservationist who also holds British citizenship, was arrested in 2018 and soon after sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was granted a brief furlough in March, when Tehran approved the release of two other foreign nationals, but ultimately forced to return to Evin.

In a Thursday post on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, Tahbaz’s daughter Tara wrote, “We are encouraged by the development today on the conditions of our father and the other American hostages, but they are not free until they are home safely and reunited with their families.”

Shargai, 58, was traveling in Iran with his wife in 2018 when he was detained without explanation. Iranian authorities initially confiscated his American passport, inhibiting him from leaving the country, before re-arresting him in 2020 and handing down a 10-year sentence for espionage.

Family members of all three prisoners said that the men have had to endure solitary confinement and inhumane treatment and that they feared for their loved ones’ safety when a massive fire tore through Evin in October.

While the agreement would be a notable achievement for the Biden administration’s efforts to bring wrongfully detained Americans home, it does not include any terms related to Iran’s nuclear program, which the United Nations’ atomic watchdog organization reports has been rapidly expanding in recent months.

In 2018, then-President Donald Trump exited a major nuclear agreement with Iran known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

When Biden entered office, his administration promised to broker a “longer and stronger” version of the pact but has so far failed to strike any agreement limiting Iran’s nuclear program.

Nuclear negotiations and talks aimed at securing the release of detainees have taken place on separate tracks, but their positive results have often aligned during periods when Washington and Tehran have displayed an increased willingness to cooperate.

However, there’s currently no indication that the latest round of talks will yield any progress on the nuclear front.

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(WASHINGTON) — There is “growing concern” for the safety of Niger’s democratically elected president who remains under house arrest amid an apparent coup there, according to the U.S. Department of State spokesperson Matthew Miller.

“We are greatly worried about his health and his personal safety and the personal safety of his family,” Miller said during a press briefing on Wednesday. “As the time goes on, as he’s held in isolation, it’s a situation that’s of growing concern to us.”

Miller did not speak to the specific conditions of Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum’s confinement but said he had “no reason to dispute” reports that the politician is being denied access to running water, electricity and other supplies.

U.S. President Joe Biden has called for Bazoum’s immediate release, warning in a statement last week that the West African nation is “facing a grave challenge to its democracy.”

On July 26, a group of mutinous soldiers led by Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, the commander of Niger’s presidential guard, placed Bazoum and his family under house arrest in the Nigerien capital of Niamey. They then announced on Nigerien state television that they have “put an end to the regime” of Bazoum due to “the continuing degradation of the security situation, the bad economic and social governance.”

The group, which calls itself the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Country, said “all institutions” have been suspended, aerial and land borders have been closed and a curfew has been imposed until the situation is stabilized. They declared Tchiani the new head of state and warned foreign governments “not to interfere.”

Bazoum’s apparent ousting marks the seventh attempted coup in West and Central Africa since 2020 and throws into question the future of Niger, a landlocked country that has had four coups since gaining independence from France in 1960. Bazoum was elected to office in 2021 in Niger’s first peaceful democratic transfer of power.

As military leaders seized control last month, the streets of Niger’s capital erupted in chaos as hundreds of people marched in support of the president while chanting “No coup d’etat.” Thousands of others came out in support of the junta, waving Russian flags and holding signs that read “Down with France.” Protesters also burned down a door and smashed windows at the French embassy in Niamey before being dispersed by Nigerien soldiers.

France, along with several other countries, has since evacuated its citizens from Niger while the U.S. has evacuated some embassy employees and their families. Although the U.S. embassy in Niamey remains open for limited, emergency services to its citizens there, routine consular services are suspended and Americans are being advised not to travel to Niger, according to the U.S. Department of State.

The ordered temporary departure of non-emergency U.S. government personnel and eligible family members from the embassy in Niamey has no impact on U.S. forces in Niger, according to U.S. Department of Defense spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a regional body comprised of 15 West African countries, announced sanctions against Niger on July 30 and threatened to use force if the coup leaders didn’t reinstate Bazoum within one week. But the Nigerien junta has so far failed to comply and even announced on Wednesday that it has formed a new government.

Guinea, a nearby nation that has been under military rule since 2021, issued a statement on July 30 expressing support for Niger’s junta and urging ECOWAS to “come to its senses.” On July 31, the military-ruled governments of Burkina Faso and Mali, which share borders with Niger, released a joint statement denouncing the ECOWAS sanctions as “illegal, illegitimate and inhumane,” refusing to apply them, and also warned that “any military intervention against Niger will be considered as a declaration of war against Burkina Faso and Mali.”

Meanwhile, Benin, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Senegal — all ECOWAS member states — have indicated their willingness to send troops into Niger if the bloc decided to do so.

In a televised statement on Sunday night, hours before the deadline set by ECOWAS, a spokesperson for the Nigerien coup leaders announced that the nation’s airspace will be closed until further notice due to “the threat of intervention being prepared in a neighboring country.” The spokesperson warned that any airspace violation will be met with “an energetic and immediate response.” At least 3,000 Nigerien troops have since been moved from the northern Agadez region to the country’s southern border with Nigeria.

ECOWAS leaders met in Nigeria’s capital of Abuja on Thursday for a second summit to discuss their options regarding the situation in Niger as the junta remains defiant.

Various sources told ABC News on Monday that an American delegation was also in Abuja to discuss a strategy to avoid neighboring Niger being overtaken by the Wagner Group, a Russian paramilitary organization, which could destabilize the entire region.

Bazoum’s government has been a top ally to both the U.S. and Europe in the fight against violent extremists linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group in Africa’s Sahel region. The U.S. Department of Defense said it has provided $500 million in military assistance to Niger since 2012, “one of the largest” security assistance and training packages in sub-Saharan Africa. The U.S. has freezed its funding to Niger amid the apparent coup.

There are currently 1,100 U.S. military personnel in Niger as part of a long-running counterterrorism mission that trains the Nigerien military and runs drone operations from a large base in the northern city of Agadez, located in the Sahara Desert. Those operations have been suspended in the wake of the apparent coup, namely the drone activity since Niger’s airspace has been closed below 24,000 feet.

Other countries in the region, including Burkina Faso and Mali, have ousted the French military and instead enlisted the help of Wagner. In a voice message posted July 27 on social media channels linked to Wagner, the group’s founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, appeared to endorse the coup in Niger and offer the services of his fighters to the junta.

ABC News’ Aicha El Hammar Castano, Luis Martinez, Emma Ogao and Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.

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