Five Americans freed from Iranian detention on Monday are on their way back to the United States after initially stopping in Doha, Qatar, according to a US official and a source familiar with the matter. The five, all of whom had been designated as wrongfully detained, were freed as part of a wider deal that includes the US unfreezing $6 billion in Iranian funds. The identities of the other two Americans are not publicly known. Siamak Namazi’s mother, Effie Namazi, and Morad Tahbaz’s wife, Vida Tahbaz – who were previously unable to leave Iran – were also on the flight from Iran to Doha, a senior Biden administration official said.
They were flown out of Tehran on a Qatari government jet to Doha on Monday afternoon local time, before taking off for the Washington, DC, area to be reunited with their families, the senior administration official said. In a statement Monday, President Joe Biden celebrated the release of the five Americans “after enduring years of agony, uncertainty, and suffering.” “Today, five innocent Americans who were imprisoned in Iran are finally coming home,” Biden wrote in the statement released shortly before the Americans were scheduled to land in Doha.\
Source: CNNPOLITICS
