Americans detained for years in Iran arrive home after release and tearfully embrace loved ones
The Hindu
Americans detained in Iran for years freed in exchange for $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets. The prisoners were welcomed home to cheers and hugs from loved ones
Americans detained for years in Iran arrived home on Tuesday (September 19) after being freed as part of a politically risky deal that saw President Joe Biden agree to the release of nearly $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets.
The prisoners landed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, with clapping and cheers heard in the predawn hours. Siamak Namazi, the first off the jet, paused for a moment, closed his eyes and took a deep breath before leaving the plane. Loved ones, some holding small American flags, tearfully enveloped them in hugs and exchanged greetings in English and Farsi, the main language of Iran.
The successful negotiations for the Americans' freedom brought Mr. Biden profuse thanks from their families but heat from Republican presidential rivals and other opponents for the monetary arrangement with one of America's top adversaries.
“Today, five innocent Americans who were imprisoned in Iran are finally coming home,” the Democratic President said in a statement released as the plane carrying the group from Tehran landed in Doha, Qatar, on Monday.
Iran’s hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi, on hand for the United Nations General Assembly in New York, suggested the exchange could be “a step in the direction of a humanitarian action between us and America.”
“It can definitely help in building trust,” Mr. Raisi told journalists.
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