Number of wrongfully detained Americans brought home under President Biden is now 35

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Five Americans who have been held hostage in Iran are flying to freedom right now, accompanied by two of their spouses. Three of them — Siamak Namazi, Morad Tahbaz and Emad Shargi — had for years languished in the notorious Evin Prison.

Their release brings the number of wrongfully detained Americans brought home under President Biden to 35....

...what U.S. did to secure their release:

from Brett McGurk, the National Security Council’s coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa...

There is a lot of false information out there. These are funds that South Korea deposited into Iranian accounts during past administrations for the purchase of Iranian oil. Under U.S. sanctions regulations, these funds have been legally available for certain forms of bilateral and humanitarian trade.

These are not frozen funds. Iran spent heavily from similar accounts — in China, Turkey, India — under the last administration. The funds in South Korea were not spent for reasons specific to South Korea. What we have agreed to do as part of this deal is to transfer the funds from South Korea to a bank in Qatar. And under terms that provide confidence, the funds will be spent only on a limited category of humanitarian trade: food, medicine and agricultural products. That’s it.

The funds are subject to more legal restrictions now than when they were in South Korea. And for any transactions, funds are used to pay vendors for the humanitarian goods. No funds whatsoever are going into Iran.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/09/18/iran-hostage-deal-brett-mcgurk/

...remember:


July 19, 2022
President Biden Executive Order on Bolstering Efforts to Bring Hostages and Wrongfully Detained United States Nationals Home
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2022/07/19/executive-order-on-bolstering-efforts-to-bring-hostages-and-wrongfully-detained-united-states-nationals-home/