The five American citizens being released in a prisoner exchange with Iran are on their way to the U.S., White House officials have confirmed.
The five Americans and two family members arrived in Doha, Qatar on Monday after leaving Iran. White House officials touted the move as President Biden reuniting families. In the exchange, the U.S. offered up five Iranian prisoners and returned $6 billion in frozen funds for use in Iran.
“The president is making five families whole again,” a White House official said Sunday night.
The frozen funds arrived to Qatar Sunday night, which triggered Iran’s release. Qatar is serving as an intermediary for negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.
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Biden marked the exchange in a statement on Monday, explaining that the two unidentified Americans have requested that their identities not be revealed.
“As we celebrate the return of these Americans, we also remember those who did not return. I call on the Iranian regime to give a full account of what happened to Bob Levinson. The Levinson family deserves answers,” Biden wrote. “Today, we are sanctioning former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence under the Levinson Act for their involvement in wrongful detentions. And, we will continue to impose costs on Iran for their provocative actions in the region.”
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Biden’s administration has emphasized that Qatar will maintain control of the funds and disburse it to Iran only for humanitarian efforts. Iran watchdogs have argued, however, that is only a half measure.
“As if disconnected from reality, the administration continues to press the point about controls on the accounts as if money is not fungible and as if Iran didn’t use illicit financial practices in the past to abuse humanitarian exemptions in older sanctions laws,” said Benham Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.
“The Islamic Republic must be beaming now. Despite rhetoric from Washington about supporting the Iranian people, in practice with the waiver and random payment the Biden administration is now effectively helping Tehran signal that no matter what the regime does, it will not be met with meaningful pressure,” he added.
