{"id":2027794,"date":"2023-09-11T10:40:02","date_gmt":"2023-09-11T14:40:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-poised-to-send-iran-6-billion-to-initiate-prisoner-exchange\/"},"modified":"2023-09-11T10:42:47","modified_gmt":"2023-09-11T14:42:47","slug":"biden-poised-to-send-iran-6-billion-to-initiate-prisoner-exchange","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-poised-to-send-iran-6-billion-to-initiate-prisoner-exchange\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden set to provide $6B for Iran&#8217;s prisoner swap."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbiden-poised-to-send-iran-6-billion-to-initiate-prisoner-exchange%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2027794&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div>\n<h2>Unfrozen Iranian Funds to Trigger\u200c Prisoner \u200dSwap<\/h2>\n<blockquote>\n<p>When $6 billion \u200dof unfrozen Iranian funds are wired to banks in Qatar as early as next\u2062 week, \u200dit \u2062will trigger a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-poised-to-send-iran-6-billion-to-initiate-prisoner-exchange\/\" title=\"Biden set to provide B for Iran's prisoner swap.\">carefully \u200cchoreographed sequence<\/a> that \u200cwill see \u2064as many as five \u2063detained U.S. dual nationals \u200dleave\u2062 Iran\u2063 and a similar number of Iranian prisoners held in \u2064the U.S. fly \u2064home, according to eight Iranian \u2063and other sources familiar with the negotiations who spoke to Reuters.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3>First Steps \u200cTowards Freedom<\/h3>\n<p>As \u200ba\u2062 first step, Iran on Aug. \u206310 released four U.S. citizens from Tehran\u2019s Evin prison into house arrest, where \u200dthey joined a fifth, who was already under house arrest. Later that day U.S. secretary of state\u2062 Antony\u200c Blinken called the move the first step of a process that \u2064would lead to their return home.<\/p>\n<p>They include businessmen Siamak Namazi, \u200c51, \u200cand Emad Sharqi, 59, as\u2063 well\u2063 as environmentalist Morad Tahbaz,\u200d 67, who also holds British nationality, the U.S. administration has said. \u200cThe Tahbaz and\u200d Shargi families did not\u2064 respond\u2062 to requests for\u2063 comment. A lawyer for the Namazi family declined to comment.<\/p>\n<p>The identities of the fourth and fifth Americans, one of whom according to two \u2064sources is a woman, have not been disclosed. Reuters couldn&#8217;t \u2064establish which Iranian prisoners, \u2063in turn, \u200dwould be swapped by the United States.<\/p>\n<p>Iran said \u200con \u2064Monday it was optimistic the\u200c prisoner swap with Washington\u200c would\u2063 happen\u2062 &#8220;in \u2064the\u2062 near future&#8221;.<\/p>\n<h3>The Role of Qatar<\/h3>\n<p>At the centre of the negotiations\u2064 that forged this\u200b deal between the superpower which Iran brands\u200b the &#8220;Great Satan&#8221; and the Islamic Republic which Washington calls a state sponsor of\u200b terrorism is\u2062 the tiny but hugely rich state of \u200cQatar.<\/p>\n<p>Doha hosted at least eight rounds of talks involving Iranian and U.S. negotiators sitting in separate hotels speaking via shuttle diplomacy, a source briefed on the \u200cdiscussions said, with the earlier sessions \u200bfocused mainly on the thorny nuclear issue and \u200cthe \u200clater ones on the prisoner releases.<\/p>\n<p>Doha will implement a \u2062financial arrangement under which \u2062it will pay \u2062banking fees and monitor how Iran spends the unfrozen\u200c cash to ensure no money is\u2063 spent on items under\u200b U.S. \u200dsanctions, and the prisoners will transit Qatar when they are \u200bswapped, according to three of the sources.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Iran initially wanted direct access\u200b to the funds but in the \u2064end agreed to having access\u200d via Qatar,&#8221; said a senior diplomat. &#8220;Iran will purchase food\u2063 and medicine and Qatar will pay\u2062 directly.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Reuters pieced together this account of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/were-never-leaving-trump-vowed-to-stay-in-office-despite-election-loss-book-reveals\/\" title=\"\u2018We\u2019re never leaving\u2019: Trump vowed to stay in office despite election loss, book reveals\">previously unreported details<\/a> about the extent of Qatari mediation of the\u200c secret talks, how the deal unfolded and the expediency that motivated \u200cboth\u2062 parties \u200dto clinch the prisoner swap deal. Reuters\u200d interviewed four Iranian officials, two U.S.\u200c sources, a senior Western diplomat,\u200c a\u200c Gulf government adviser and the person familiar with the\u2062 negotiations.<\/p>\n<p>All of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/free-speech-absolutist-elon-musk-to-buy-twitter-for-43-billion\/\" title=\"Free Speech Absolutist Elon Musk To Buy Twitter for  Billion\">sources requested anonymity<\/a> because \u2064of\u200c the sensitivity of a deal \u2063which hasn\u2019t \u200cbeen fully implemented.<\/p>\n<h3>Continued Diplomatic\u200c Efforts<\/h3>\n<p>A State\u2062 Department spokesperson said the U.S. was not ready to announce the exact timing of the\u200b prisoner release.\u2064 The\u2064 Department\u200d also declined to discuss the details of what the spokesperson termed &#8220;an ongoing and\u200c highly sensitive negotiation.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. administration has not commented on the timing of the funds transfer.\u200c However, on Sept 5, \u2063South Korean foreign\u2063 minister Park Jin said efforts were under way to transfer Iran&#8217;s funds.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The\u2063 U.S.-Iran relationship\u2062 is not one\u200b characterized \u2062by trust. We judge Iran \u2062by \u200bits\u2063 actions,\u2063 nothing else,&#8221; the State \u200cDepartment spokesperson\u200b added.<\/p>\n<h3>Ensuring Transparency\u200c and Compliance<\/h3>\n<p>Once \u200cthe funds are\u200c transferred, they will be held in restricted \u2063accounts in Qatar, and\u200d the U.S.\u2062 will have \u2064oversight as \u200bto how and \u200dwhen \u2064these funds are \u2062used, the State \u2063Department \u2063spokesperson added.<\/p>\n<p>The potential transfer has drawn Republican criticism that Biden,\u2062 a Democrat, is in effect paying ransom for \u200dU.S. citizens. But Blinken told reporters on Aug 10 the deal does not\u2062 mean that Iran would be\u2062 getting any sanctions relief, explaining that Washington would \u2063continue to push\u2063 back &#8220;resolutely against Iran\u2019s\u200c destabilizing activities in the region&#8221;.<\/p>\n<h3>Qatari-Led Mediation<\/h3>\n<p>The Qatari-led mediation gained momentum in June 2023, said the source briefed on the discussions,\u200b adding\u200c at least\u2063 eight rounds of talks\u200c were held since March 2022, with earlier rounds devoted mainly\u200b to\u200c the nuclear issue and later ones to prisoners.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They \u2064all realized that nuclear (negotiation) is\u2063 a dead end and shifted\u2063 focus to prisoners. Prisoners is more simple. It\u2019s easy to get and you can\u200c build\u200d trust,&#8221; he\u200b said. \u2063&#8221;This is when \u200bthings got serious again.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>Prisoners \u200cExpected to Transit Qatar<\/h3>\n<p>The Iranian, diplomatic and regional sources\u2062 said that once the money reaches Qatar from South Korea via \u200dSwitzerland, Qatari\u200d officials will \u2062instruct Tehran and Washington \u200cto\u200b proceed with the releases under the terms of a document signed\u2064 by both sides\u2064 and Qatar\u200c in late July \u200bor early \u200cAugust. \u200bReuters has not seen \u200cthe document.<\/p>\n<p>The transfer\u200c to \u2064banks in \u200cQatar is expected to\u200b conclude \u2062as early as next week if all goes to plan,\u200c the source \u200cbriefed on the talks\u200d said. Reuters \u2062was unable to identify the banks \u2064involved.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;American\u200d prisoners will\u2064 fly\u2063 to Qatar from Tehran\u2062 and Iranian prisoners will fly from the U.S. to Qatar, and\u2064 then be transferred \u200cto Iran,&#8221; the source \u2063briefed\u2064 on the talks \u2063told Reuters.<\/p>\n<p>According to two Iranian insiders, the source briefed on the negotiations and\u200b the senior Western diplomat, the talks&#8217; most complex part\u200b was \u2063arranging a mechanism to ensure transparency in the money transfer and respect for U.S. \u2063sanctions. \u2064The \u200d$6 billion in Iranian\u200c assets\u2014the\u2062 proceeds of \u200coil \u200bsales\u2014were frozen \u200cunder sweeping \u2063U.S. oil and financial sanctions against Iran. \u2063Then president Trump in\u200d 2018 reimposed the sanctions when he\u2062 pulled Washington \u200cout of a deal under which Iran had restricted its nuclear program.<\/p>\n<p>Issues discussed included how \u2064to\u2063 ensure Iran only spent the money on \u2063humanitarian \u2062goods and securing guarantees \u2062from Qatar on its monitoring\u2062 of the process.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;To salvage\u2063 the negotiations from collapse, Qatar pledged to cover the \u2064banking fees for the \u200cfunds&#8217; transfer from Seoul to Switzerland, and subsequently to Qatari banks,\u2062 while also taking on the responsibility of expense oversight,&#8221; an Iranian insider briefed about\u2063 the \u200btalks told Reuters.<\/p>\n<p>The central bank \u200cgovernors of Iran and Qatar met\u2062 in Doha on \u200cJune 14 to discuss \u200dthe funds transfer, a second Iranian\u2063 insider and the source \u200cbriefed on the talks said.<\/p>\n<p>The Central \u2064Bank of \u200dIran and the Qatar central bank declined to comment.<\/p>\n<p>The talks were led by U.S. Special Envoy for \u200cIran Robert Malley\u2014now on unpaid \u2064leave \u200dbecause his\u200b security clearance is under review\u2014and by U.S. Deputy Special Envoy Abram \u200dPaley and Iran&#8217;s\u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/north-korea-tests-first-strategic-cruise-missile-with-possible-nuclear-capability\/\" title=\"North Korea Tests First \u2018Strategic\u2019 Cruise Missile With Possible Nuclear Capability\">chief nuclear negotiator<\/a>, Ali Bagheri Kani, said one Iranian official, two sources \u2062briefed on the negotiations, and the Western diplomat.<\/p>\n<p>Mehdi Safari, Iran\u2019s\u2062 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/off-to-a-bad-start-putin-schools-biden-with-one-phone-call\/\" title=\"Off to a Bad START: Putin Schools Biden with One Phone Call\">deputy foreign minister<\/a> for economic affairs, joined the Iranian delegation\u2064 at two meetings in Qatar for talks on \u2063the funds transfer, one senior \u2064Iranian diplomat told Reuters. Qatari minister of state at the Foreign Ministry Mohammed Al-Khulaifi was the\u2064 go-between mediator.<\/p>\n<p>Malley declined to comment. Paley,\u200d Kani and Al \u2064Khulaifi could not be reached directly \u2062for comment.<\/p>\n<p>(Additional\u2064 reporting by Laila Bassam \u2063in Beirut and Washington bureau; writing by Samia Nakhoul; editing \u200cby William Maclean)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Published under:<\/strong> <span><a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/tag\/iran\/\" title=\"View all posts in Iran\">Iran<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>According to eight Iranian and U.S. officials, the transfer of $6 billion in unfrozen Iranian funds to Qatari banks next week will initiate a coordinated process. This will result in the release of up to five detained U.S. dual nationals from Iran and the return of a similar number of Iranian prisoners held in the U.S.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":2027795,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2027794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2027794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2027794"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2027794\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2027795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2027794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2027794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2027794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}