5 Americans freed from prison in Iran land on U.S. soil

| September 19, 2023

Five Americans who were freed as part of a $6 billion exchange with Iran on Monday have landed on U.S. soil, arriving at Fort Belvoir, Va., early Tuesday morning.

The former prisoners were tearfully reunited with family and friends at the airport, hugging and crying after years of enforced separation. They reached the U.S. after being flown out of Tehran and to Doha, Qatar, on Monday.

The group includes:

  • Siamak Namazi, who had been held in Iran since 2015;
  • Morad Tahbaz, an environmental activist detained in 2018;
  • Emad Shargi, who was arrested while visiting Iran in 2018;
  • Two other people who reportedly did not want to be named publicly.

    • To secure their freedom, the Biden administration agreed to give Tehran access to $6 billion in frozen oil revenues, as well as freeing five people who were being held in U.S. custody.

    That group includes Iranian nationals who were living in the U.S. legally when they were arrested; most of the cases centered on the illegal export of sensitive technology or information to Iran.

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