Share
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran on Tuesday identified the five prisoners it hopes to see freed in the United States in exchange for five Iranian-Americans now held in Tehran and billions in assets once held by South Korea.
The acknowledgment by the Iranian mission to the United Nations in New York comes as the Biden administration has issued a blanket waiver for international banks to transfer $6 billion in frozen Iranian money from South Korea to Qatar without fear of U.S. sanctions.
The Prisoner Swap Progress
The moves by both Tehran and Washington appear to signal the prisoner swap is progressing as the money once held in South Korean won is converted into euros and moved to Qatar, where Iran will be able to use it for humanitarian purposes.
In a statement to The Associated Press, Ali Karimi Magham, a spokesman for the Iranian mission, confirmed the list of prisoners that Tehran wants released.
The five sought by the Iranians are:
- Kaveh Lotfolah Afrasiabi, an Iranian charged in 2021 with allegedly failing to register as a foreign agent on Iran’s behalf while lobbying U.S. officials on issues like nuclear policy;
- Mehrdad Ansari, an Iranian sentenced to 63 months in prison in 2021 for obtaining equipment that could be used in missiles, electronic warfare, nuclear weapons and other military gear;
- Amin Hasanzadeh, an Iranian and permanent resident of the United States whom prosecutors charged in 2019 with allegedly stealing engineering plans from his employer to send to Iran;
- Reza Sarhangpour Kafrani, an Iranian charged in 2021 over allegedly unlawfully exporting laboratory equipment to Iran; and
- Kambiz Attar Kashani, an Iranian-American sentenced in February to 30 months in prison for purchasing “sophisticated, top-tier U.S. electronic equipment and software” through front companies in the United Arab Emirates.
The U.S. State Department declined to comment, citing “the sensitivity of this ongoing process.”
Reported Identities
The news website Al-Monitor, relying on a statement from the Iranian mission, first reported the Iranians’ identities on Monday.
On the U.S. side, Washington seeks the release of Siamak Namazi, who was detained in Iran in 2015 and later sentenced to 10 years in prison on internationally criticized spying charges; Emad Sharghi, a venture capitalist sentenced to 10 years; and Morad Tahbaz, a British-American conservationist of Iranian descent who was arrested in 2018 and also received a 10-year sentence.
The fourth and fifth prisoners were not identified. All five are under house arrest at a hotel in Tehran.
U.S. Republicans have criticized the possibility of an exchange, which is under discussion amid heightened tensions between Iran and the West over its nuclear program, as well as a series of ship seizures and attacks attributed to Tehran.
US Troops and Iran’s Role in Ukraine
The Pentagon is considering a plan to put U.S. troops on board commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of all oil shipments pass moving out of the Persian Gulf.
A major deployment of U.S. sailors and Marines, alongside F-35s, F-16s and other military aircraft, is also underway in the region. Meanwhile, Iran supplies Russia with the bomb-carrying drones Moscow uses to target sites during its war in Ukraine.
RELATED TOPICS:
CA Has Seen Many New Towns, but This Big Project Is Stalled
2 hours ago
Fresno Man Sentenced to 29 Years for Sexually Assaulting Children and Dog
13 hours ago
Bulldogs’ Two-Position Standout Tommy Hopfe Signs With Rockies
14 hours ago
Former Bulldog QB Jake Haener: I Have a ‘Rare Form of Skin Cancer’
15 hours ago
The Many Names of GOP Vice Presidential Nominee JD Vance
15 hours ago
Jack Black, a Small Dog With a Big Heart, Is Looking for His Forever Home
46 mins ago
Categories
![](https://gvwire.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/26125735/Rescued-from-abandonment-and-near-starvation-Jack-a-once-fearful-and-emaciated-dog-has-transformed-into-a-healthy-loving-companion.-Mells-Mutts-1024x538.jpg)
Jack Black, a Small Dog With a Big Heart, Is Looking for His Forever Home
![](https://gvwire.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/25112306/AP2141106817163116-1-1024x576.jpg)
What Italian Grandmothers Can Teach You About Healthy Eating
![](https://gvwire.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/26104129/021624-California-Forever-LE-CM-29.jpg-1024x576.jpg)
CA Has Seen Many New Towns, but This Big Project Is Stalled
![](https://gvwire.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/26170645/Gage-Mason-20-was-sentenced-to-29-years-in-state-prison-for-sexually-assaulting-multiple-children-and-a-dog-and-will-also-be-required-to-register-as-a-sex-offender-1024x538.jpg)
Fresno Man Sentenced to 29 Years for Sexually Assaulting Children and Dog
![](https://gvwire.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/26161707/Tommy-Hopfe-with-the-Colorado-Rockies_1280X720-1024x576.jpg)