Agreement between Washington, Tehran thanks to Qatar mediation

Al-Khulaifi conveyed: “The State of Qatar played a pivotal role in facilitating dialogue between the United States and Iran to release a number of prisoners and to establish a channel of communication to address issues agreed upon between the two parties.”

He pointed out that Doha: “Has made great efforts as a reliable international mediator to achieve rapprochement between the American and Iranian sides.”https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2022/09/27/18/58/woman-7483483_640.jpg

Al-Khulaifi added that the recent agreement: “Was preceded by extensive visits by Qatari officials to Washington and Tehran with the aim of conveying messages, bringing views together and presenting positive initiatives to reach this agreement.”

“The State of Qatar hopes that the US-Iranian agreement will lead to greater understandings, including a return to the nuclear agreement,” he added, noting that the agreement “enhances the security and stability of the region.”

Iranian news agency the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) quoted an unnamed official source stating: “The process of releasing $10 billion in frozen Iranian funds in South Korea and Iraq began against the backdrop of a prisoner exchange agreement with the US.”

On Thursday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister and chief negotiator Ali Bagheri announced that many of his citizens detained in the US would be released, in addition to lifting the ban on Tehran’s frozen funds, after reaching the same agreement.

The statement coincided with the announcement by Adrienne Watson, spokesperson for US National Security Council at the White House, that Iran had transferred five Americans from prison to house arrest ahead of negotiations for their release.

According to US media reports, Washington and Tehran agreed to exchange several Iranian citizens detained in the US for five Americans detained in Iran, and the latter would receive $6 billion in frozen oil revenues.

The reports indicated that the Qatari government would control the funds released and that Iran only has access to the funds to pay its dues in exchange for humanitarian supplies, such as medicine and food.

The year 2019 witnessed a prisoner exchange between Tehran and Washington, in which the former released a Chinese-American scientist detained for three years on widely-criticised espionage charges.

At the time, Tehran disclosed that the US authorities held around 20 Iranians in its prisons.

Source: Middle East Monitor under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0