Exclusive: Which Iranians Accused of Crimes in the U.S. Will Be Released in the Prisoner Exchange with Iran?

According to Voice of America, the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran are working to finalize a prisoner agreement that has made significant progress this month. However, there is an ambiguous issue; it is unclear which Iranians detained or prosecuted on federal charges in the United States may be exchanged for five Americans imprisoned in Tehran. Since the Biden administration and Iran began indirect negotiations on prisoner exchanges in May 2021, Tehran has refrained from naming Iranians it claims are wrongfully detained in the U.S., despite repeated public requests. This issue resurfaced on August 10, when Iran stated that by transferring these Americans to house arrest, it had taken a step towards the release of five Americans imprisoned in Tehran. Washington accuses the Islamic Republic of illegally imprisoning these Americans. Iranian state media reported that the Americans would be allowed to leave Iran after a contract is signed between Tehran and Washington. According to these media, the United States is granting two concessions in this agreement: the release of five Iranians who claim to have been imprisoned on 'false' charges of circumventing U.S. sanctions, and the unblocking of $6 billion in Iranian assets that had been frozen in South Korean banks due to sanctions against Tehran. The Biden administration has stated that this agreement allows Iran to use this $6 billion only for purchasing humanitarian goods such as food and medicine under U.S. supervision. Washington has not mentioned the release or dismissal of cases against Iranian citizens accused of federal crimes in the U.S. Meanwhile, Voice of America has identified 11 Iranians currently detained in the United States or facing federal charges, who could be on Iran's list for prisoner exchanges. Their identities were confirmed by reviewing documents from the Department of Justice and contacting U.S. officials. Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York did not respond to Voice of America's email regarding whether any of these 11 individuals are on Iran's potential list. Voice of America sent the names of these individuals to the U.S. Department of State to confirm whether Iran has requested that none of them be included in the prisoner exchange list. A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State said on Thursday, September 2, in response to Voice of America: 'This is an ongoing and sensitive process. Therefore, we are not in a position to discuss further details at this time.' Six of the individuals identified by Voice of America, namely Mansour Arbabsiar, Niloofar 'Nelly' Bahadorifar, Kambiz Attar Kashani, Behrouz Mokhtari, Reza Olangian, and Erfan Salmanzadeh, are dual Iranian-American citizens. Kaveh Lotfollah Afrasiabi and Amin Hassanzadeh are permanent residents of the U.S., while three other Iranians named Mehrdad Ansari, Reza Sarhangpour Kafarani, and Malek Mohammad Balouchzahi have no legal status in the U.S. A picture shows five non-American Iranian citizens detained in the U.S. or under pre-trial supervision for federal crimes. From this group of 11, Afrasiabi, Hassanzadeh, and Kafarani are under supervision, Ansari, Arbabsiar, Kashani, and Olangian are serving their sentences in federal prisons, and Mokhtari and Salmanzadeh are in custody and will be transferred to federal prisons following sentencing. Of the remaining two, Bahadorifar is under supervision and is undergoing scheduled medical treatments after sentencing and must report to prison in October, while Balouchzahi is in federal custody and his sentence will be issued in October. Mokhtari, who was sentenced to three years in prison in July, was under house arrest but was re-arrested at his home in northern Virginia on August 17. Court documents reviewed by Voice of America quote prosecutors saying that FBI agents inspected Mokhtari's home that day and found documents indicating that he had applied for a new Iranian passport earlier this month but had not yet received it from the Iranian Interests Section in Washington. According to prosecutors, Mokhtari told agents that he intended to travel to Iran soon, which violates the terms of his bail and release. All these Iranians, except for two, were arrested on charges of violating U.S. or international sanctions imposed against Iran or providing other illegal assistance to Tehran. Balouchzahi was convicted of international drug trafficking, and Salmanzadeh was convicted of using weapons of mass destruction and explosives in court. Nizar Zaka, head of the non-profit organization 'Hostages Worldwide,' said in a phone interview with Voice of America on Wednesday, September 1, that Iran is clearly seeking the release of five Iranians in the U.S. to show that it cares about its citizens as well, not just securing billions of dollars. He added that Tehran has not named these individuals because they include Iranians who hold U.S. citizenship or residency and would likely remain in the U.S. if released from federal detention or supervision. Zaka said, 'If Tehran names these individuals, it looks bad because those individuals do not want to return to Iran.' Nizar Zaka is a Lebanese-American citizen who, according to the U.S., was wrongfully imprisoned in Iran from 2015 to 2019. He founded his non-profit organization in 2020 to advocate for the release of others wrongfully detained around the world. Zaka expressed doubt that any Iranians accused of more serious crimes in the U.S. would be included in the prisoner exchange. He cited Arbabsiar as an example, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2013 for involvement in a plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in the U.S. in 2011. He added, 'Regarding those individuals that Iranians care most about freeing, no government in the U.S. can release them.' Andrea Stricker, an American researcher at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies based in Washington, told this week's edition of Voice of America that it is important for Tehran to release even Iranians accused of lesser crimes in the U.S. She said, 'These individuals may seem like small fish, but the regime thinks they are big fish. They represent the nuts and bolts of Iran's weapons system, so the regime tries to protect them.' Andrea Stricker added, 'It may be more palatable for the Biden administration to grant early release to Iranians nearing the end of their sentences, such as Ansari and Kashani, whose prison terms end in December of this year and February of next year, respectively.' However, she emphasized that the U.S. would send a damaging message with such an action, stating, 'First, there is no equivalence between Iranians acting as illegal procurement agents, engaging in terrorism, and being prosecuted in the U.S. legal process, and innocent Americans who are kidnapped by Iran simply for visiting their families or pursuing their education. The second issue is that it would be shameful for all the efforts of U.S. law enforcement to prosecute those Iranians to be disrupted and their painstaking investigations and operations to be undermined by a prisoner exchange. This creates a terrible precedent for investigators and prosecutors who must pursue these individuals.' Andrea Stricker said that she, like the families of Americans imprisoned in Iran, is sensitive to the idea that the U.S. should do everything possible to bring their loved ones home. Nevertheless, she stated, 'The U.S. government should instead seek to deter further hostage-taking by not engaging in prisoner exchanges and effectively paying ransom, and should threaten Iran with serious consequences if it does so.' Senior Republican concerns in the House of Representatives about a 'possible agreement' between Biden and the Islamic Republic. An open letter to Biden: Unblocking $6 billion in exchange for the release of dual nationals is a 'dangerous precedent.' Criticism from 26 U.S. senators about 'paying ransom to the Iranian regime': Encouraging more hostage-taking. Continued efforts to bring back American prisoners and impose more sanctions against Iranian officials. Opening accounts for six private banks in Qatar for 'Korean dollars'; Germany is involved. Blinken: The strategy of 'deterrence, pressure, and diplomacy' towards Iran continues. The son of Shahab Dalili: Until the U.S. government assures me it is pursuing my father's case, I will continue my hunger strike and sit-in. Mike Turner, American legislator: Congress should consider a travel ban to Iran. Exclusive: The EU welcomes the change in the status of Iranian-American prisoners. The U.S. emphasized that Iran's released funds will only be used for 'medicine, food, and non-sanctioned items.'