Iran frees 3 Europeans in prisoner swap as detained American's lawyer denies rumors of imminent release

Berlin — Two Austrian citizens and a Danish national who were held in Iran were being released and allowed to return home, officials in Austria and Belgium said Friday. Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said he was "very relieved" that Kamran Ghaderi and Massud Mossaheb were being brought back to their home country after "years of arduous detention in Iran."

He thanked the foreign ministers of Belgium and Oman for providing "valuable support," without elaborating on what form it took.

The Reuters news agency cited a Belgian government statement as saying a Danish person arrested in Iran in November 2022 in connection with women's rights demonstrations was the third individual being released Friday as part of a prisoner swap.