Latest Status of 'Iranians Eligible for Pardon' Under Iran-U.S. Agreement

As the prisoner exchange between Washington and Tehran is underway, Voice of America has obtained information regarding the prisoners who were supposed to be released under the Iran-U.S. agreement. According to a reporter from the English section of Voice of America, among the three Iranians who decided to remain in the U.S., 'Kambiz Attar Kashani' was released from a federal prison in Michigan on Monday, and his lawyer has not commented on his future plans. Court records also indicate that 'Amin Hassan-Zadeh' lost his permanent residency in the U.S. as of August 23, and 'Kaveh Lotfollah Afrasiabi' was pardoned while awaiting trial on 'federal charges', but federal prosecutors have requested a judge to 'temporarily' set aside the charges against him. A judge in another case observed by Voice of America late Tuesday confirmed the government's request, meaning that 'Afrasiabi's case has been closed', but prosecutors retain the right to pursue Afrasiabi under any circumstances in the future. Sabrina Sharouf, Afrasiabi's attorney, had requested a judge to cancel his trial date in January, as his criminal case has been 'resolved based on the actions of the executive branch' of the U.S. government. Afrasiabi, a permanent resident of the U.S., has been awaiting trial since being charged in 2021 by a federal court in New York for acting 'as an unregistered agent of the Islamic Republic'. Two other pardoned Iranians, Mehrdad Ansari and Reza Sarhangpour Kafri, returned to Tehran via Qatar on Monday. Notably, Republican Senator Tom Cotton, in an open letter to Antony Blinken on Monday, pointed out that at least two of these 'Islamic Republic agents' intend to remain in the United States and urged Blinken to ensure that no Iranian agents remain in America. He added: 'You must revoke the September 11 agreement that encourages the Islamic Republic to engage in further hostage-taking and gifts billions of dollars to this regime. If this deal is not revoked, at the very least, all Iranian agents involved in the deal must be expelled from U.S. soil.' The dual citizens released from the grip of the Islamic Republic, who left Doha, Qatar for Washington on Monday evening, arrived in the U.S. capital early Tuesday local time. Additionally, five Iranian-American citizens had been transferred from prison to a safe house since August 10, following the announcement of an agreement between the U.S. and the Islamic Republic. This agreement also includes the transfer of six billion dollars of Iran's frozen funds in South Korea to Qatar and the release of five Iranians 'convicted or accused' in the U.S. Ghazaleh Sharmeh: The choice of hostages for release or remaining in prison is a great injustice and oppression. Hamid Talabian: This move could establish a tradition of hostage-taking in the Islamic Republic. American lawmakers' reactions to the release of hostages; expressing happiness while also being concerned about the continuation of hostage-taking. The case of Mehdi Yarahee with the charge of 'encouraging corruption and inciting immoral crimes' went to court. The ancient caravanserais of Iran have been registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The organization 'United Against a Nuclear Iran': This must be the last time we pay a price to bring back hostages.