A long-awaited prisoner swap between Iran and the United States is reportedly now happening. News agency reports says five dual US-Iranian citizens have left Tehran airport on a Qatari plane. They’re being exchanged for five Iranians held in the US. Tehran agreed to release the prisoners, including Siamak Namazi, an Iranian-American businessmen sentenced to prison for espionage – a charge his family rejects. Iran is getting access to six-billion dollars in oil revenue, that was frozen by South Korea. Iran’s foreign ministry confirmed the money would be transferred to a bank account in Qatar, where the agreement allows it to be used for humanitarian purposes. The US-Iran prisoner swap comes one year after the start of massive anti-government protests in Iran. The Tehran regime has been cracking down on demonstrations sparked by the death of Jina Mahsa Amini. She died while being held in custody for allegedly failing to wear the mandatory head scarf properly. While protests have been brutally repressed in Iran, elsewhere people are keeping Jina’s memory alive. D-W’s Aya Ibrahim reports now from Washington DC, where Iranians are urging the world to keep up pressure on the regime, calling for women’s freedom and democracy.
US, Iran swap prisoners one year after Mahsa Amini protests | DW News
Add comment