The US government has designated all five as being wrongfully detained.
official briefed on the matter have told CNN, as part of a wider deal that includes the US unfreezing US$6 billion in Iranian funds.They were being flown on a Qatari government jet to Doha, which left an airport in Tehran on Monday afternoon . Two relatives of the detainees were also on board, along with the Qatari ambassador to Tehran.Siamak Namazi, Emad Shargi and Morad Tahbaz were among the Americans believed to be involved in the deal.
Their release represents a significant diplomatic breakthrough after years of complicated indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran. They are the second set of sanctions imposed under an executive order signed by President Joe Biden that seeks to punish organisations or criminals responsible for holding Americans captive.
The release is the latest high-profile deal negotiated by the Biden administration to secure the release of Americans deemed wrongly detained abroad following the release of Americans from Russia and Venezuela.Under the agreement between the US and Iran, US$6 billion in Iranian funds that had been held in restricted accounts in South Korea was transferred to restricted accounts in banks in Qatar
"We are implementing this arrangement through the establishment of what we are calling the humanitarian channel in Qatar," which is designed to protect against money laundering and misuse of the funds, the second senior administration official said.
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