US-Iran prisoner swap: The 10 detainees who have been released

“Today, five innocent Americans who were imprisoned in Iran are finally coming home… they will soon be reunited with their loved ones – after enduring years of agony, uncertainty and suffering,” US president Joe Biden said in a statement, as the US and Iran each freed five detainees under an exchange agreement. The agreement follows months of negotiations involving mediation by Oman and Qatar and the transfer of $6 billion unfrozen Iranian assets from South Korea. Let’s take a look at the 10 detainees and the process that led to their release. The five American prisoners freed Tehran held in custody at least five Iranian-born US citizens. The Islamic republic does not recognise dual nationality and has considered them as only Iranian nationals. Following are the Americans who were imprisoned in Iran and were released under the deal. Siamak Namazi: A businessman, he was arrested in 2015 by the Revolutionary Guards in Tehran while visiting his family. Baquer, his ill father, was detained months later after coming to Iran to visit his jailed son. They were both sentenced to 10 years in jail in 2016 for allegedly spying on and assisting with the US government. [caption id=“attachment_13140512” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Siamak Namazi was arrested in 2015 by the Revolutionary Guards in Tehran while visiting his family. Reuters[/caption] Emad Sharqi: Sharqi and his wife moved to Iran from the United States in 2017. The 59-year-old Iranian-American businessman was detained for the first time in 2018 while working for Saravan Holding, a tech investment firm. After eight months, he was released on bail, and a Revolutionary Court cleared him of spying and security-related charges. However, his travel ban remained. In November 2020, he was called before another Revolutionary Court, which sentenced him to 10 years in prison on espionage accusations. He was not originally imprisoned, but Iranian media stated that he was apprehended while attempting to depart Iran in January 2021. Morad Tahbaz: He was arrested in 2018. In 2019, the 67-year-old Iranian-American environmentalist with British citizenship, was sentenced to 10 years in jail for “assembly and collusion against Iran’s national security” and “contacts with the enemy government of the United States… for the purpose of spying,” as per a Reuters report. [caption id=“attachment_13140562” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] British-Iranian environmentalist Morad Tahbaz and Vida Tahbaz pose in this file picture obtained from social media. Reuters[/caption] The two remaining former prisoners preferred to remain anonymous. By 10 August, all had been transferred to house arrest at undisclosed locations as an initial step ahead of their release. They flew from Tehran to the Qatari capital Doha on Monday, joined by two more relatives who are also US citizens. The Iranian prisoners Tehran’s judiciary reported in August 2022 that “dozens” of Iranian nationals had been detained in the United States. As part of the swap, five Iranians detained by the US were also released. They included: Mehrdad Moein Ansari: A 40-year-old dual citizen of the United Arab Emirates and Germany. According to the US Justice Department, he was sentenced to 63 months in prison in 2021 for breaking Iranian sanctions as part of a plot to get military-sensitive materials for Iran. Ansari is accused of obtaining and attempting to procure parts for nuclear weapons systems, missile guidance, and development, as per a BBC report. According to Justice Department authorities, Ansari and his co-conspirators “attempted to profit from a far-reaching, extensive scheme to circumvent US sanctions on Iran.” They consistently lied to several US suppliers and obtained very sensitive dual-use products illegally."

Kambiz Attar Kashani: Kashani, 44, was sentenced to 30 months in jail in February 2023 for plotting to illegally transfer US products and technology to Iran, including the Central Bank of Iran, which the US government has designated as a supporter of terrorist organisations, reports BBC. According to Justice Department officials, Kashani and his co-conspirators used two front companies in the United Arab Emirates to illegally obtain electronic goods and technology from multiple US companies to send to Iran. Kashani pleaded guilty to the charges. Reza Sarhangpour-Kafrani: In 2021, Kafrani was accused with illegally exporting laboratory equipment from the United States to Iran via Canada and the United Arab Emirates. He lived in Montreal and operated a Canadian company that did business in the United States and other nations. [caption id=“attachment_13140602” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Iranian prisoner swaps Reza Sarhang Pour and Mehrdad Moein Ansari at Doha airport in Doha, Qatar. Reuters[/caption] According to US authorities, Kafrani engaged with an American company to purchase mass spectrometry equipment that would be delivered to Iran via Canada and the UAE. To export the equipment to Iran and the UAE, the US government requires a licence. Amin Hassanzadeh: Hassanzadeh, a permanent citizen of the United States, was accused to take important technical data from his employer and delivered it to his brother in Iran, who had ties to the Iranian military. In 2019, he was charged with interstate trafficking of stolen items and fraud. Kaveh Lotfolah Afrasiabi: The FBI arrested Afrasiabi at his residence in Massachusetts for acting and conspiring to act as an unregistered agent of the Iranian government. According to US sources, Iran was paying Afrasiabi to propagate propaganda, reports BBC. Iranian media said Monday that Ansari and Sarhangpour had arrived in Qatar, ahead of their eventual return to Iran. Two of the others will remain in the United States at their request, and the other will go to a third country, Iran’s foreign ministry said. Swaps in the past Washington and Tehran have struck similar deals in the past. In June 2020, Iranian scientist Cyrus Asgari returned to Iran after nearly three years in US detention charged with stealing trade secrets. Days later another scientist, Majid Taheri, was freed in exchange for Tehran’s release of US Navy veteran Michael White who had been detained since July 2018 on charges of insulting Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Taheri, an Iranian-American who had been working at a clinic in Tampa, Florida, was held by US authorities for 16 months over accusations of sanctions violations. [caption id=“attachment_13140612” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] US Ambassador to Qatar, Timmy Davis, stands as Siamak Namazi, Morad Tahbaz and Emad Shargi, who were released during a prisoner swap deal between US and Iran, arrive at Doha International Airport. Reuters[/caption] The swaps took place despite heightened tensions after the US president at the time, Donald Trump, in 2018 withdrew from a landmark nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions on Iran. In 2019, Tehran released US academic Xiyue Wang who had been jailed in 2016 for espionage, in exchange for Iranian scientist Massoud Soleimani. Iranian authorities had in early 2016 freed four US citizens in exchange for seven Iranians held in the United States. The Americans included Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian and US Marine veteran Amir Hekmati, both accused of espionage, as well as the Christian pastor Saeed Abedini. Prisoner exchange mediations The United States and Iran severed diplomatic ties in 1980, after the Islamic Revolution toppled the Western-backed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and after Iranian students took hostage US embassy staff, who were held for 444 days.

Talks on prisoner exchanges since then have often involved mediation by Switzerland, which represents US interests in Tehran. Oman, whose mediation helped secure the latest deal, has facilitated since May the release of six European detainees in Iran. They include Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele, who had been convicted of espionage and spent more than a year in custody. In exchange, Tehran got back its diplomat Assadollah Assadi who was convicted in a bomb plot and imprisoned in Belgium. With inputs from agencies