U.S.-Iran detainee swap deal to go ahead on Monday says Tehran.

Tehran announced Monday that a deal with its arch-rival, the U.S., to unfreeze $6 billion in Iranian funds and swap five inmates will go through following months of talks mediated by Qatar.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Nasser Kanaani said the funds frozen in South Korea will be in Iran’s control on Monday, triggering the swap of five U.S. nationals arrested in Iran for five Iranians in the U.S.
The five dual-national Americans are due to depart Tehran, fly to Doha, Qatar, and then to the U.S. under the meticulously orchestrated plan, sources told Reuters.

In exchange, five Iranians in the U.S. will be released to fly to Iran. According to Iranian officials and the state news agency, one detainee is anticipated to stay in the U.S..

The accord, first announced on Aug. 10, will ease tensions between Washington and Tehran. However, they still disagree on Iran’s nuclear ambitions, regional influence, U.S. sanctions, and military presence in the Gulf.

On Monday, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said it was working with all parties “to ensure smooth progress of all procedures so that it will be resolved once and for all.”

WAIVED SANCTIONS
The U.S. dual citizens released are businessmen Siamak Namazi, 51, Emad Sharqi, 59, and environmentalist Morad Tahbaz, 67, British. The prisoners were released and placed under home arrest last month.

Fourth U.S. citizen released into house arrest; fifth already under house arrest. Their identities are unknown.

Iranian officials identified the five U.S.-released Iranians as Mehrdad Moin-Ansari, Kambiz Attar-Kashani, Reza Sarhangpour-Kafrani, Amin Hassanzadeh, and Kaveh Afrasiabi. Two Iranian officials indicated Afrasiabi would stay in the U.S.

The accord began with Washington waiving sanctions to allow South Korea to transfer $6 billion in Iranian money to Qatar. U.S. sanctions froze the cash in South Korea, Iran’s top oil consumer.

The pact requires Doha to monitor Iran’s spending on non-sanctioned humanitarian supplies, including food and medicine.

Republican critics believe President Joe Biden, a Democrat, is paying a ransom for the U.S. people by transferring Iran’s finances. The White House defends the deal.

Since Republican President Donald Trump withdrew from a nuclear deal with Iran and world powers in 2018, Washington-Tehran relations have been strained. As Biden prepares for the 2024 election, another nuclear deal has stalled.