Qatari mediation
\nIran says funds will be in its possession on Monday
\ntehran
\nAs part of a larger US-Iran agreement, five Iranian-US citizens who have been detained in Iran are anticipated to be freed on Monday, according to a spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry.
\nReuters reported that a Qatari plane waited in Iran to fly out US detainees in a swap for five Iranians held in the United States, thanks to a Doha-mediated deal that has also unfrozen $6 billion of Iranian funds.
\nIran and the United States were told the funds had been transferred to accounts in Qatar, a source briefed on the matter told Reuters.
\nThat triggered an exchange sequence agreed upon after months of talks between the arch-foes, who are at odds over Tehran\u2019s nuclear ambitions and a host of other issues.
\nAll five of the arrested have been deemed to be unlawfully held by the Iranian government, according to the US.
\nNasser Kanaani, a spokesman for the foreign ministry, stated during a press conference that was broadcast on Press TV on Monday that the release \u201cwill hopefully be completed\u201d along with the other components of the arrangement.
\nAccording to the US-Iran agreement, $6 billion in Iranian funds that were previously kept in restricted accounts in South Korea will be moved to banks in Qatar.
\nAdditionally, a source familiar with the specifics of the situation reported that Qatar has informed Iranian and US officials that the money has been transferred from Switzerland to bank accounts in Qatar, according to CNN.
\nThe report went on to say that the funds came from oil sales that were allowed and placed into accounts set up under the Trump administration.
\nIn the meantime, representatives of the Biden administration have emphasised that the money that has been transferred to the Qatari accounts can only be used by Iran for humanitarian needs and that the US Treasury Department will keep an eye on each transaction.
\nUnder the agreement, Doha agreed to monitor how Iran spends the unfrozen funds to ensure the cash is spent on humanitarian goods, such as food and medicine, and not any items under US sanctions.
\nThe transfer of Iran\u2019s funds has drawn criticism from US Republicans who say Biden, a Democrat, is in effect paying a ransom for US citizens. The White House has defended the deal.
\nThe US dual citizens to be released include Siamak Namazi, 51, and Emad Sharqi, 59, both businessmen, and Morad Tahbaz, 67, an environmentalist who also holds British nationality. They were released from prison and put under house arrest last month.
\nA fourth US citizen was also released into house arrest, while a fifth was already under house arrest. Their identities have not been disclosed.
\nIranian officials have named the five Iranians to be released by the U.S. as Mehrdad Moin-Ansari, Kambiz Attar-Kashani, Reza Sarhangpour-Kafrani, Amin Hassanzadeh and Kaveh Afrasiabi.
\nTwo Iranian officials previously said that Afrasiabi would remain in the United States but had not mentioned others.
\nTies between Washington and Tehran have been boiling since Donald Trump, a Republican, pulled the US out of a nuclear deal between Iran and global powers when he was president in 2018.
\nReaching another nuclear deal has gained little traction since, as President Joe Biden prepares for the 2024 U.S. election.
\nAs a first step in the deal, Washington waived sanctions to allow the transfer of $6 billion in Iranian funds from South Korea to Qatar.
\nThe funds were blocked in South Korea, normally one of Iran\u2019s largest oil customers, when Washington imposed sweeping financial sanctions on Tehran and the cash could not be transferred.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Qatari mediation Iran says funds will be in its possession on Monday tehran As part of a larger US-Iran agreement, five Iranian-US citizens who have been detained in Iran are anticipated to be freed on Monday, according to a spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry. Reuters reported that a Qatari plane waited in Iran to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":356864,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-356836","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n