Morad Tahbaz After His Release and Return to the U.S.; The Captivity Was Hard, But I Learned a Lot

Morad Tahbaz, one of five American citizens released who arrived in the U.S. on Tuesday morning, issued a statement thanking all officials and individuals who played a role in his release and remembered his friends and colleagues who are still imprisoned. He wrote, 'I pray that they can join me in freedom soon.' Mentioning Houman Jokar, Niloufar Bayani, Amir Hossein Khaleghi, Taher Ghaderian, Sepideh Kashani, and Sam Rajabi, all of whom have spent nearly six years in prison due to the case known as environmental activists, he referred to the death of Kavous Seyed Emami in prison and noted, 'Since then, I have been left with a void in my heart. My pain remains as my dear friends and colleagues are still in Evin prison.' Tahbaz pointed out that 'my time in captivity was hard, but it helped me learn a lot about myself and the world.' He wrote, 'I had to delve deeply within myself to find the resilience necessary to overcome this challenge. However, I also learned that even in the darkest places and worst conditions, there are still good people in this world, and that gave me hope.' The dual-national citizens released from the grip of the Islamic Republic, who left Doha, Qatar for Washington on Monday night, arrived in the U.S. capital early Tuesday local time. The five Iranian-American citizens were transferred from prison to a safe house following an agreement between the U.S. and the Islamic Republic announced on August 10. This agreement also included the transfer of six billion dollars of Iran's blocked funds in South Korea to Qatar and the release of five Iranians 'convicted or accused' in the U.S. President Joe Biden welcomed the release of the five dual nationals on Monday and urged American citizens not to travel to Iran. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also issued a statement after the release of the five dual nationals, urging American citizens not to travel to Iran for any reason and to leave the country immediately if they are there. Blinken emphasized the priority of freeing American citizens imprisoned abroad, stating that under President Biden's leadership, more than 30 wrongfully detained American citizens have been returned to the U.S. Continued congressional reactions to the prisoner exchange with the Islamic Republic and the release of blocked assets.