USA gives green flag to prisoner swap with Iran, releases $6 billion of frozen Iranian funds
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken signed off on sanctions waivers late last week, a month after US and Iranian officials had an agreement.
The Biden administration has given the green flag for a major prisoner swap with Iran in which Iran will release 5 US citizens detained in Iran and in exchange, the US will release 5 Iranian prisoners in the US. The Biden administration has also allowed to release $6 billion worth of frozen Iranian funds by issuing a blanket waiver to international banks to transfer the money from South Korea to Qatar without the fear of US sanctions.
According to a notification obtained by The Associated Press, the Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken signed off on the sanction waivers last week after the US and Iranian officials reached an agreement in principle. The Congress was, however, not informed of the waiver decision until Monday.
While, the deal was previously announced and the waiver was expected, but it is now that the Biden administration through a notification has given light upon the details but the names of the prisoners has not been revealed.
Even though the notification did not provide us with any names of the US citizens detained in Iran but it is currently being assumed that the American prisoners include Siamak Namazi, who was detained in 2015 and was later sentenced to 10 years in prison on internationally criticised spying charges; Emad Sharghi, a venture capitalist sentenced to 10 years; and Morad Tahbaz, a British-American conservationist of Iranian descent who was arrested in 2018 and also received a 10-year sentence. The fourth and fifth prisoners were not identified.
However, the Biden administration has also drawn criticism due to the notification from the Republicans and others who claim that the deal is coming at a time when if the Iranian economy is boosted, Iran will pose a serious threat to the US troops and Middle-east allies.
On X, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa said “it’s ridiculous for US to be blackmailed into paying $6B for hostages which will help indirectly finance the number 1 foreign policy of Iran: terrorism.” Whereas, Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas has accused Biden of “paying ransom to the world’s worst state sponsor of terrorism.”
Senator Ted Cruz R-Texas has also criticised the Biden administration for striking up a deal with Iran and also said that the administration was pursuing a secret deal with the Iranians to include more than release of the detainees. “Today’s news confirms there has already been a side deal including a $6 billion ransom and the release of Iranian operatives,” Cruz said in a statement.
People in the knowledge of the deal said that the detainees are said to be released as early as next week. It is also being said that the $6 billion sanction waiver is a critical element of the prisoner release deal. Due to the release of the $6 billion four of the five detainees have been transferred from Iranian jails to house arrest, whereas, the fifth prisoner was already in house arrest. The current sanctions waiver applies to banks and other financial institutions in South Korea, Germany, Ireland, Qatar and Switzerland.
“To facilitate their release, the United States has committed to release five Iranian nationals currently held in the United States and to permit the transfer of approximately $6 billion in restricted Iranian funds held in (South Korea) to restricted accounts in Qatar, where the funds will be available only for humanitarian trade,” Blinken wrote.
“I determine that it is in the national security interest of the United States to waive the imposition of sanctions … with respect to foreign financial institutions under the primary jurisdiction of Germany, Ireland, Qatar, the Republic of Korea, and Switzerland that are notified directly in writing by the U.S. government, to the extent necessary for such institutions to engage in transactions occurring on or after August 9, 2023,” Blinken wrote.
Sanctions waivers apply to transactions involving previously penalized entities such as the National Iranian Oil Company and Central Bank of Iran “ to transfer funds from accounts in the Republic of Korea to accounts in Switzerland and Germany and from accounts in Switzerland and Germany to accounts in Qatar, and to use the transferred funds for further humanitarian transactions in accordance with written guidance from the U.S. Government,” he wrote.
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