Iran Releases Four Dual-Nationality Prisoners

Simultaneously with the announcement of the release of "four dual-nationality Iranian prisoners" on Saturday, January 26, by the Tehran Prosecutor's Office, Iranian state media reported that the United States had also released seven Iranian prisoners in the country. According to the state news agency IRNA, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi stated: "In line with the resolutions of Iran's Supreme National Security Council and the overall interests of the system, four dual-nationality Iranian prisoners were released today (Saturday) as part of a prisoner exchange." Mr. Dolatabadi did not mention the names of those released, but shortly after, news agencies reported, citing an "informed source," that Jason Rezaian, Amir Hekmati, Saeed Abedini, and Nasratollah Khosravi Roudsari, four Iranian-American citizens, were among those released. Previously, no reports had been published regarding the timing and details of Nasratollah Khosravi Roudsari's arrest. Meanwhile, the IRIB news agency reported that the United States had also released seven Iranian prisoners in the country, and Reuters, citing official sources in the U.S., reported that six of the released Iranians hold dual nationality and were imprisoned for violating sanctions against Iran. Another report indicated that the U.S. Attorney's Office had dropped the charges of sanction violations against four Iranians accused of violating Iran's sanctions. Reuters also reported, citing a senior U.S. official, that Siamak Namazi, an Iranian-American director of strategic planning at Crescent Petroleum, who is detained in Iran, was not part of the prisoner exchange program. Iranian media named Nader Madanlou, Bahram Mekanik, Khosrow Afghahi, Arash Ghahraman, Touraj Faridi, Nima Golestaneh, and Ali Sabounchi as the seven Iranians released in the U.S. According to reports, most of these individuals were accused of assisting in the violation of Iran's sanctions. For instance, Nader Madanlou was sentenced to eight years in prison on December 20, 2013, for assisting in the launch of the Iranian satellite Sina-1. Ali Sabounchi was also sentenced on August 11, 2014, for violating U.S. trade sanctions against Iran due to the export of stainless steel filter components to Iran. In April of this year, the U.S. Justice Department accused Bahram Mekanik, Touraj Faridi, and Khosrow Afghahi of illegally exporting advanced electronic equipment to Iran. Last year, Turkish media reported that the country had handed over Nima Golestaneh, accused of cyber activities against the United States, to the U.S. Additionally, reports from Iranian state media indicate that under an agreement between Iran and the U.S., 14 Iranians who had been pursued by Interpol at the request of U.S. authorities will no longer be pursued. In this regard, the state news agency IRNA reported on Saturday evening, citing an informed source, that the U.S. had issued arrest warrants for these individuals in recent years on charges of circumventing sanctions and had requested their extradition to the U.S. According to the IRNA source, whose name was not mentioned, these individuals include Saeed Jamili, Jalal Salami, Matin Sadeghi, Alireza Moazami Goudarzi, Mohammad Abbas Mohammadi, Kourosh Taherkhani, Sajjad Farhadi, Seyyed Ahmad Abtahi, Gholamreza Mahmoudi, Hamid Arabnezhad, Ali Moattar, Mohammad Ali Shaarbaf, Amin Ravan, and Behrouz Dolatzadeh. Reports about the exchange of these prisoners between Iran and the U.S. come as it is likely that with the implementation of the Vienna nuclear agreement beginning on Saturday or Sunday, sanctions against Iran may be lifted. Previously, John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State, stated on October 13 that during months of negotiations over the nuclear program with Tehran, the issue of the release of American citizens imprisoned in Iran was raised in every meeting, but Washington did not want the fate of the negotiations to hinge on this issue. However, he had previously stated in response to a question about negotiations for prisoner exchanges between Iran and the U.S. that "there has been a lot of discussion on this matter, and discussions are currently ongoing." In Iran, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesman for the Iranian judiciary, stated that some American officials had "contacted" and requested the "exchange" of Jason Rezaian, a journalist for The Washington Post. The Guardian subsequently reported that in response to these statements, it contacted a senior U.S. official who declined to comment. Meanwhile, Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabai, the lawyer for Amir Hekmati, claimed on December 30 of this year that the U.S. government had requested, through its interests office in Iran, the "exchange" of this Iranian-American citizen imprisoned in Iran for another prisoner. Amir Hekmati was arrested in August 2011 while visiting his grandmother in Iran on charges of "spying for a hostile government" and was sentenced to death. However, the appellate court reduced this sentence to 10 years in prison. Saeed Abedini, a missionary pastor, was sentenced to eight years in prison in early January 2013 for undermining national security. Jason Rezaian, a journalist for The Washington Post, was arrested at the end of July last year on charges of "espionage" and "actions against national security."