On Monday, the Biden administration announced it issued waivers for banks to free Iranian funds as part of a deal between the U.S. and Iran. The current arrangement will trade $6 billion in frozen funds and five Iranian citizens currently held in the U.S. for the release of five American citizens currently held in Iran.
The waivers mark the first significant U.S. action taken to adhere to the agreement reached on August 10. Many predict that Republican members of Congress will strongly oppose the move. The banks will first transfer the funds to South Korea, where they will be transferred again to Qatar before their final destination. One of the U.S. prisoners who will be freed under the agreement is Siamak Namazi, who was first detained in 2015 when he traveled to Iran to visit his son. Iranian officials moved Namazi and two other prisoners involved in the agreement, Morad Tahbaz and Emad Shargi, out of the infamous Evin Prison in August. Both Iran and the U.S. have now taken steps to adhere to the developing deal.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/09/11/us-iran-prisoner-exchange/
