Iran, US swap prisoners under Qatar-brokered deal

TEHERAN/DOHA — Iran and the United States conducted on Monday a much-anticipated prisoner swap, each releasing five detainees, Iranian and Qatari media reported.

Two released Iranians arrived in the Qatari capital Doha on Monday, while three others were released in the United States under the deal brokered by Doha, Iran's Mizan news agency reported.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said earlier on Monday that two released Iranians would return to Iran after their releases, one would travel to a third country where his family is living, and two others would remain in the US, where they had been living before their imprisonment.

Speaking to the Qatar News Agency on Monday, Qatari Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh Al Khulaifi said: "Qatar will commence the activation of the humanitarian financial channel."

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who was in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, suggested Monday's exchange could be "a step in the direction of a humanitarian action between us and America".

"It can definitely help in building trust," Raisi told journalists.

Raisi also said his country "sought good relations with all neighboring countries" in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

"We believe that if the Americans stop interfering in the countries of the Persian Gulf and other regions in the world, and mind their own business … the situation of the countries and their relations will improve," Raisi said.

Negotiations for the US citizens' freedom brought US President Joe Biden profuse thanks from their families, but heat from Republican presidential rivals, according to The Associated Press.

A plane carrying the five US citizens back to the US had landed, according to a report by CNN.

Also on Monday, Central Bank of Iran Governor Mohammad Reza Farzin said the Iranian assets previously frozen in South Korean banks, amounting to around $5.94 billion, have been transferred to six Iranian accounts in two Qatari banks under the swap deal.

However, tensions are almost certain to remain high between the US and Iran, which are locked in disputes over Iran's nuclear program and other matters.

In a fresh development, the Biden administration also announced fresh sanctions on former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence.

Kanaani condemned such moves and meddlesome statements, which he described as preposterous and hypocritical shows.

Xinhua - Agencies