Iran Places Five U.S. Prisoners Under House Arrest, First Step to Release

The flags of the United States and Iran melted into one image. DADO RUVIC (REUTERS)

Iran has placed under house arrest five Americans it has previously held in its jails, in what appears to be a first step toward handing over what Washington has long claimed were hostages.

The National Security Council of the White House, through the mouth of its spokeswoman Adrienne Watson, has confirmed the change of the prisoners to house arrest and has described the efforts to release them as "delicate" and that "continue".

Lawyer Jared Genser has confirmed that his three clients Siamak Namazi, Emad Sharghi and Morad Tabaz, and another unidentified prisoner are now in a Tehran hotel under surveillance. With them is the fifth person, an unidentified woman, to whom he had previously moved. All of them have dual Iranian nationality or are of Iranian descent.

Namazi had been arrested in 2015 and sentenced to ten years in prison for espionage in a trial that received widespread international criticism. Sharghi, an investor, had received a similar sentence also for alleged espionage. Tahbaz, a British-American citizen of Iranian descent, has been detained since 2018 and was also serving a ten-year sentence for "contacts with the American government."

If the existence of a pact for the release of the five is confirmed, it will be the culmination of a series of delicate negotiations between the United States and Tehran that began two and a half years ago through intermediary countries such as Oman, since the two traditional enemies do not maintain diplomatic relations. Iran had hinted that it was demanding in return the release of about $6 billion in oil revenue held in South Korean banks.

"Iran's transfer of American hostages from Evin prison to house arrest is an important development," Genser said in a statement. "While I hope it will be the first step in their final release, this is at best the beginning of the end and nothing more. But there are simply no guarantees about what will happen from now on."

Neda Shargi, sister of one of the prisoners, has also confirmed the transfer. "My family has faith in the work that President (Joe) Biden and administration officials have undertaken to bring our families home, and I look forward to receiving that news soon," he said in a statement. "Until then, I hope you understand that we don't think making any more comments is going to help."

It is unclear when, if the deal is confirmed, the five would be handed over to U.S. custody. Tensions between the two governments have been rising in recent months and the US Navy is beefing up its presence in the Persian Gulf, where it is considering escorting commercial ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world's oil trade passes.

The transfer "is an encouraging step, but these U.S. citizens should never have been detained," Watson said. "We will continue to monitor their situation as closely as possible. Of course, we will not rest until they are all back in the United States."

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