U.S., Iran to Exchange Prisoners
2023-09-19
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that seven Americans have been released by Iran after the nations agreed to a prisoner exchange also involving Qatar and South Korea.
2South Korea said on Monday it is working with the United States and Iran to release restrictions on $6 billion of frozen Iranian money.
3The U.S. is releasing the money as part of the prisoner exchange.
4The money is being transferred to Qatar.
5Then, seven people with dual U.S. citizenship, who have been imprisoned or detained in Iran, are expected to leave Tehran for Doha.
6Officials told Reuters news service that, from there, they will travel to the United States.
7Qatar mediated the deal during months of talks.
8In return, five Iranians detained in the U.S. will be released so they can travel to Iran.
9Iranian officials and Iran's state news agency have said one of those detainees is expected to remain in the United States.
10The exact timing of the transfer of the money has yet to be announced.
11The deal was first made public on August 10. But the countries continue to disagree on many issues.
12They include Iran's nuclear program, Iran's effort to influence the Persian Gulf area, U.S. sanctions and America's military presence in the Persian Gulf.
13South Korea is "currently making efforts to ensure smooth progress of all procedures so that it will be resolved once and for all," the country's foreign ministry said in a statement.
14The U.S. dual citizens to be released include 51-year-old Siamak Namazi and 59-year-old Emad Sharqi, both businessmen, and 67-year-old Morad Tahbaz, an environmentalist.
15Tahbaz also holds British nationality. Iran released them from prison and put them under house arrest last month.
16A fourth U.S. citizen was also released into house arrest, while a fifth was already under house arrest.
17Their identities have not been released.
18Iranian officials 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.
19Two Iranian officials said Afrasiabi would remain in the United States.
20As a first step in the deal, the United States suspended sanctions to permit the transfer of $6 billion in Iranian money from South Korea to Qatar.
21The money had been blocked in South Korea, which is normally one of Iran's largest oil buyers, because of U.S. sanctions.
22Under the agreement, Qatar agreed to monitor how Iran uses the money to ensure it goes to non-sanctioned humanitarian goods, like food and medicine.
23The transfer of Iran's money has faced criticism from U.S. lawmakers including opposition Republican Party members.
24They said the deal is equal to paying a ransom for U.S. citizens.
25The administration of President Joe Biden has defended the deal.
26Qatar held at least eight sets of talks involving Iranian and U.S. negotiators.
27The negotiators worked from separate hotels.
28People told Reuters that they exchanged proposals through Qatari mediators.
29Earlier talks dealt mainly with the nuclear issue.
30Later, talks turned to the prisoner releases.
31I'm Caty Weaver.
1U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that seven Americans have been released by Iran after the nations agreed to a prisoner exchange also involving Qatar and South Korea. 2South Korea said on Monday it is working with the United States and Iran to release restrictions on $6 billion of frozen Iranian money. The U.S. is releasing the money as part of the prisoner exchange. 3The money is being transferred to Qatar. Then, seven people with dual U.S. citizenship, who have been imprisoned or detained in Iran, are expected to leave Tehran for Doha. Officials told Reuters news service that, from there, they will travel to the United States. Qatar mediated the deal during months of talks. 4In return, five Iranians detained in the U.S. will be released so they can travel to Iran. Iranian officials and Iran's state news agency have said one of those detainees is expected to remain in the United States. 5The exact timing of the transfer of the money has yet to be announced. 6The deal was first made public on August 10. But the countries continue to disagree on many issues. They include Iran's nuclear program, Iran's effort to influence the Persian Gulf area, U.S. sanctions and America's military presence in the Persian Gulf. 7South Korea is "currently making efforts to ensure smooth progress of all procedures so that it will be resolved once and for all," the country's foreign ministry said in a statement. 8The U.S. dual citizens to be released include 51-year-old Siamak Namazi and 59-year-old Emad Sharqi, both businessmen, and 67-year-old Morad Tahbaz, an environmentalist. Tahbaz also holds British nationality. Iran released them from prison and put them under house arrest last month. 9A fourth U.S. citizen was also released into house arrest, while a fifth was already under house arrest. Their identities have not been released. 10Iranian officials 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. Two Iranian officials said Afrasiabi would remain in the United States. 11As a first step in the deal, the United States suspended sanctions to permit the transfer of $6 billion in Iranian money from South Korea to Qatar. The money had been blocked in South Korea, which is normally one of Iran's largest oil buyers, because of U.S. sanctions. 12Under the agreement, Qatar agreed to monitor how Iran uses the money to ensure it goes to non-sanctioned humanitarian goods, like food and medicine. 13The transfer of Iran's money has faced criticism from U.S. lawmakers including opposition Republican Party members. They said the deal is equal to paying a ransom for U.S. citizens. The administration of President Joe Biden has defended the deal. 14Qatar held at least eight sets of talks involving Iranian and U.S. negotiators. The negotiators worked from separate hotels. People told Reuters that they exchanged proposals through Qatari mediators. Earlier talks dealt mainly with the nuclear issue. Later, talks turned to the prisoner releases. 15I'm Caty Weaver. 16Hyonhee Shin reported this story for Reuters. Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English. 17_______________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19transfer -v. to move something from one place to another 20dual - adj. having qualities of two different things 21mediate - v. to aid negotiations between sides opposing sides in an effort to reach an agreement 22sanction - n. measures taken against a country or individual aimed at making them observe local or international law usually in the form of economic restrictions 23monitor -v. to watch or observe for a special purpose over a long period of time 24ransom - n. money that is paid to free someone who has been captured or kidnapped