Iran and the United States exchange prisoners thanks to the mediation of Qatar (VIDEO) – RT in French

Qatari mediation allowed the exchange of five American prisoners for five Iranian detainees, with the release of 6 billion in funds belonging to Tehran. Negotiations lasted more than 19 months.

This was no easy feat for Qatari diplomacy. After eight rounds of negotiations organized in Doha since March 2022, the small gas emirate managed to find common ground between Tehran and Washington for the release of prisoners on September 18.

As part of an exchange of five American detainees in Iran for five Iranians detained in the United States, with the release of 6 billion funds in Qatari banks, a Qatar Airways plane was dispatched for the occasion.

Iranian-American convicted of espionage

Five Americans with dual Iranian nationality arrived in Qatar before flying to the United States. Among them is businessman Siamak Namazi, arrested in 2015 and sentenced to ten years in prison in 2016 for espionage.

Previously, a transfer of Iranian funds frozen in South Korea, amounting to $6 billion, had been announced in Doha and confirmed by Iran. This transfer is part of the agreement, which also provides for the release by the United States of five Iranian prisoners. Among these detainees to be released by American justice are Reza Sarhangpour and Kambiz Attar Kashani, accused of having “diverted American sanctions” against Iran, Reuters tells us.

Iranian government spokesperson Nasser Kanaani indicated that among the prisoners present in the United States, two would return to live in Iran, two would stay there and one would go to a third country, reported the Lebanese media Al-Mayadeen.

For several decades, Washington has imposed economic sanctions on the entire Iranian economy. The 2015 Iranian nuclear agreement signed under Obama’s mandate had for a time warmed bilateral relations. However, the unilateral withdrawal from the agreement and the tightening of sanctions under Trump’s presidency have caused new tensions. The Biden administration has tried to reconnect with Tehran to dust off the agreement, but without convincing results until today.