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This evening, Monday, a Qatari flight carrying five Americans detained by Iranian authorities arrived at Hamad International Airport in Doha under a Qatar-brokered prisoner exchange agreement.

The freedmen were received by Qatari and US officials, including the US ambassador in Doha, who oversaw the implementation of this part of the exchange deal, which included the release of five Iranian prisoners in the US in addition to the Iranian visit. Funds were released from South Korea to Iranian accounts registered in two Qatari banks.

A source told Reuters that the freed American prisoners left Doha for the United States on a second flight hours later. Meanwhile, the Iranian Press TV channel reported that two Iranian citizens freed as part of the deal arrived in Tehran via Qatar from the United States.

Immediately following the implementation of the terms of the agreement, US President Joe Biden, in a statement – thanked the governments of Qatar, Oman, Switzerland and South Korea for their assistance in freeing the Americans.

“I would like to express my special thanks to the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and the Sultan of Oman, Haitham bin Tariq, who helped seal the deal after months of difficult diplomacy,” he said.

Deep appreciation

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken expressed his “deep appreciation” for Qatar’s role in brokering a deal with Tehran over the past two years, stressing that the prisoner exchange deal negotiations with Iran are completely separate from Washington’s relations with Tehran.

On the first day, Blinken pointed out that frozen Iranian funds in South Korea are available to the Iranian people for humanitarian purposes, stressing that his country has mechanisms to monitor the expenditure of Iranian funds released under the agreement.

Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi considered the release of the five dual-Americans a “completely humanitarian step” that could pave the way for other humanitarian steps between Tehran and Washington in the future.

More understandings

In turn, the Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, presented the “partners” who contributed to the success of the US-Iranian agreement, stressing that Qatar continues to contribute to everything that improves the Sultanate of Oman, in particular. Security of the region and the world.

He also expressed hope that the US-Iranian prisoner exchange agreement would pave the way for further understandings, he said.

Qatar’s foreign ministry earlier announced the start of a mediation agreement between Washington and Tehran, which saw the latter release five Americans and transfer Iranian funds frozen in South Korea to Qatar.

Less than a month after Iran and the United States reached a Qatar-brokered deal to exchange prisoners and lift the embargo on Iran, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mohammad Al-Khulaifi, announced the start of the deal’s implementation. Assets abroad.

Without specifying the number of Iranians, he explained, “5 American citizens were detained in Iranian prisons en route to Doha International Airport, who were released in exchange for the release of Iranian prisoners held by the United States.”

Footage shows the arrival of prisoners held by the United States in the Islamic Republic of Iran at Doha International Airport as Qatar brokers an agreement between the two countries.#Qatar_foreign_affairs pic.twitter.com/fSaVe8wb1P

— Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs (@MofaQatar_AR) September 18, 2023

A reliable partner

He added, “As part of the agreement, Iranian funds frozen in Korea have been transferred to Doha, and Qatar will begin implementing a humanitarian banking channel.”

Al-Khulaifi said “The implementation of this agreement is a sign of the Qatari government’s position as a reliable international partner in the field of arbitration, and the confidence of all parties in its integrity and impartiality.”

He expressed his country’s hope that full implementation of the agreement between the US and Iran would lead to greater understandings, including a return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The prisoner exchange between Iran and the United States comes amid rising tensions over efforts to renew the 2015 nuclear deal and opposition to Iran’s nuclear activities by Western countries, particularly the United States.