INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
TEHRAN- The United States and Iran have agreed to liberate five American prisoners in exchange for the detention of a number of Iranians
held in the United States and access to around $6 billion in Iranian oil revenues in South Korea.As a first step in the arrangement, Iran
has released five American-Iranian citizens from prison and now they are either under house arrest or in a hotel.The prisoners are Siamak
Namazi, Emad Sharghi and Morad Tahbaz, who had been jailed on charges of spying, as well as two others whose families withheld their
transferred on Thursday from Evin Prison to a hotel in Tehran where they will be held for several weeks until they are allowed to board an
airplane.Mohammad Jamshidi, a top aide to President Raisi, was quoted by the official government news agency IRNA that American prisoners
will remain in Iran until all the funds from South Korea are released.It is worth noting that the United States is to blame for all
moratoriums made in such talks because it had illogically and futilely resisted all legitimate demands by Iran
The American officials thought they had the upper hand in the talks and gave the cold shoulder to any proposals.Iran has always been keen on
any kind of negotiations but the United States officials tend to comport themselves in a way that they are always right! But on the
contrary, they showed no sign of logical behavior.Such a deal can be contemplated as a victory for the administration of President Ebrahim
claims that Tehran can submit orders to a bank in Doha for food and medicine and a limited number of medical equipment and a bank in Doha
Then Qatari companies would deliver them to Iran
Iran has no direct access to the funds at all.In reaction to such claims, Mohammad Marandi, advisor to the Iranian nuclear negotiating team,
has said that Iran will have direct and full access to its unfrozen assets in South Korea.Noting that the Qatari companies will have no
role, Marandi said that the Iranian banks will have full control and can use the unfrozen assets for buying goods and services without any
disputes through peaceful means and dialogue.It is up to Iranian authorities to determine the manner of application of the unfrozen
issued a statement on Thursday saying the process to release $6 billion in Iranian money wrongfully blocked in South Korea under the guise
reached an agreement on a prisoner exchange that also included the return of Iranian assets.The ministry said the transfer of funds has
the unfrozen funds.The statement further said in addition to unfreezing the money, the ministry has been pursuing the release of Iranian
indicate that the release of the prisoners is contingent upon the delivery of Iranian money to certain accounts.Several of the Iranians
jailed in the United States would soon be released, it said, adding that Iran still holds several American prisoners whose release is being
pursued by the United States government.Iran has consistently stated its willingness to exchange detainees with the United States as a
Sultanate of Oman, who has been serving as a mediator in the talks between Tehran and Washington, stated that he thought the two nations
were close to reaching a prisoner swap agreement in an interview with Al-Monitor that was published on June 14.According to Reuters, Iran
has let four jailed Americans to leave the Evin prison in Tehran and enter house arrest
cooperation agreement mediated by a third-party government, Iran and the United States have agreed to reciprocally release and pardon five
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani tweeted that the funds were being released and that the imminent release of the Iranian
Tehran government will continue to repatriate its frozen assets in some countries, including Japan.Speaking to reporters in a regular news
briefing, Nasser Kanaani emphasized that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi had also discussed the
matter of the financial claims on the sidelines of the October 2022 United Nations General Assembly session in New York.He continued by
pointing out that the Japanese government has frequently stated that it is willing to pay off its obligations and that it is now making an
effort to do so.Back in February, Kanaani also said that Tehran had been signaling that it is ready to exchange detainees with the United
Iranian-American citizen months ago, Tehran demonstrated its good faith, while the United States has not yet reciprocated.In a letter dated
July 22, President Raisi referred a government bill to Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf to take legal actions to release the
and South Korea dates back to 2018, when the United States unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, formally called the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and started slapping economic sanctions on Iran
Before 2018, South Korea had been the third-largest buyer of Iranian oil and the top customer of Iranian condensates
The oil trade between Tehran and Seoul resulted in the accumulation of some $7 billion in Iranian oil revenues in South Korean banks.With
tensions between Tehran and Washington exacerbating, Seoul moved to block the Iranian funds for fear of falling afoul of United States
sanctions on Iran.The move irked Iran, which continued to demand that South Korea release the frozen funds
In a bid to get its funds, Iran held several rounds of talks with South Korea that some of which were within the framework of the broader
tensions between Iran and the United States, saying Tehran had agreed to an Omani offer in this regard.The lawmaker, Shahriar Heidari, who
Many times, they announced their readiness to resolve the differences between other countries and Iran
Oman has announced its readiness to resolve disputes between South Korea and Iran
In this regard, Oman has made a proposal that has been approved by Iran and South Korea
Iranian funds held in South Korean banks, according to a South Korean daily.The talks were focused on releasing the $7 billion Iranian funds
that have long been blocked in South Korean banks due to United States sanctions on Iran.The funds are oil revenues dating back to the
period prior to the re-imposition of United States sanctions on Iran in May 2018.Citing diplomatic and government sources, the Korea
