Five US detainees were being taken to a Qatari aircraft to fly out of Iran on Monday in a swap for five Iranians detained in the US thanks to a Doha-brokered deal between the arch foes that also unfroze $6 billion of Tehran's funds.
A view of the entrance of Evin prison in Tehran, Iran October 17, 2022
The funds’ release triggered an exchange sequence agreed after months of talks between the United States and Iran, who are at odds over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and other issues. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said the funds, blocked in South Korea after US sanctions on Iran were hardened in 2018, would be available to Tehran on Monday. Under the deal, Qatar will ensure it is spent on humanitarian goods.The deal will remove a major irritant between the US, which brands Tehran a state sponsor of terrorism, and Iran, which calls Washington the “Great Satan”.
Doha hosted at least eight rounds of talks with Iranian and U.S. negotiators sitting in separate hotels, speaking via shuttle diplomacy, a source previously told Reuters.Under the agreement, Doha agreed to monitor how Iran spends the unfrozen funds to ensure the cash is spent on humanitarian goods, such as food and medicine, and not any items under US sanctions.
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