The exchange is already a fact. Five Americans “unjustly imprisoned” for years left Iran on Monday for Qatar as part of the prisoner exchange between both countries.
The government of Tehran agreed to this exchange, which has opened the Republicans' can of thunder, to be able to access 6,000 million dollars of income from the sale of oil that were frozen by the sanctions imposed by the United States, endorsed by the Organization. of the United Nations (UN).
The plane with the five Americans and family members left for Qatar, a country that has helped in the negotiation of the pact. Once in Doha, these passengers will board another US government plane bound for their country. The agreement also includes the release of five Iranians detained in the US for alleged violation of sanctions.
This is the result of two years of more than discreet negotiations with one of the great enemies of the United States. The prisoners in Iran, who have dual nationality, already left the Evin prison, a penitentiary with a bad reputation, last August and they were transferred to a hotel, where they were under surveillance until this Monday.
According to the official version, Washington will transfer the $6 billion in Iranian assets that are being held in South Korea. The execution of the agreement establishes that this money will be deposited into an account of the central bank of Qatar. The government of this country, always according to the sources cited by US media, will be in charge of controlling and regulating Iran's access to that capital. This sum should be used to pay for humanitarian purchases such as medicines and food, goods that are scarce in that country precisely due to the economic blockade due to its nuclear challenge.
From the moment the agreement was announced in principle until it was implemented, the pact has received numerous criticisms from American conservatives. They do not believe that Iran will use that money for humanitarian purposes, but rather that it will reinforce the government, its terrorist activities and its initiative to achieve nuclear weapons.
On the other hand, the relatives of the detainees have congratulated themselves on the agreement. Among those released are Siamak Namazi, 51 years old and sentenced to ten years in 2015. Namazi has been imprisoned for eight years, historically longer than any other American. Two others are Emad Sharghi and Morad Thahbaz, both arrested in 2018. All three faced insubstantial charges of espionage. The families of the other two preferred to remain anonymous. One is a woman.
