Reactions to the Release of Five Iranian-American Hostages

The release of five dual-national prisoners from the Islamic Republic's prisons in Iran and their transfer to Doha, the capital of Qatar, has sparked widespread reactions on social media. Some critics argue that a prisoner exchange could have occurred without paying money to the Islamic Republic. On Monday, September 18, five Iranian-American citizens were welcomed after being transferred to Qatar following an agreement between the two countries regarding the release of six billion dollars of Iranian assets, conditional on being used for humanitarian purposes. On the Qatari plane carrying the five American prisoners, Siamak Namazi, Emad Sharqi, Morad Tahbaz, and two other citizens who did not wish to be named for family reasons were present, along with two family members of Namazi and Tahbaz who had been banned from leaving. U.S. President Joe Biden, in a statement regarding the release of the five American citizens imprisoned in Iran, announced that these five 'innocent' Americans who had been imprisoned in Iran were finally returning home. Siamak Namazi, one of the five Americans who entered Qatar after being released from the Islamic Republic's prisons, expressed gratitude to President Biden in a statement, describing the difficult conditions he faced during his eight years in prison. Namazi addressed Biden, saying: 'Thank you for finally putting the lives of American citizens above politics. Thank you for ending this nightmare. Thank you for bringing us home. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!' U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken tweeted about the 'release of five unjustly imprisoned American citizens' in Iran, stating that the Islamic Republic 'never answered about the fate of Bob Levinson' and that 'today (Monday) we sanctioned Ahmadinejad, the former president of Iran, and the Ministry of Intelligence and Security' of the Islamic Republic 'in an effort to hold them accountable for illegal detentions.' Additionally, Ghazaleh Sharmeh, daughter of Jamshid Sharmeh, criticized that some dual-national prisoners, including her father who has been sentenced to death, were not included in this agreement, urging the U.S. government not to abandon imprisoned Americans instead of imposing sanctions. She had previously told Voice of America that many members of Congress and the Senate were unaware of the 'deal with the Islamic Republic' and 'when they learned what was happening to my father, who was kidnapped and is now being killed,' they said they would 'cooperate' in following up on his situation. Hossein Aghaei, an international relations and strategic affairs researcher, stated in an interview with Voice of America addressing the U.S. government: 'Why are you giving money to the Islamic Republic? You can carry out this prisoner exchange with the Islamic Republic without giving them money.' Inger Anderson, the highest environmental official of the United Nations, called for the release of Niloufar Bayani, a former UN Environment Programme employee, and other environmental activists who are imprisoned after the release of Morad Tahbaz. Kaveh Madani, director of the UN Water Think Tank, wrote on the messaging platform 'X': 'Morad Tahbaz has been released, hoping for the freedom of other innocent environmental prisoners.' Azadeh Mokhtari, a journalist, also stated: 'But Hooman Jokar, Amir Hossein Khaleghi, Sam Rajabi, Taher Ghaderian, Niloufar Bayani, Sepideh Kashani,' other prisoners in this environmental case 'are still under house arrest' because 'they are not dual nationals.' Blinken, after the release of the five imprisoned citizens: 'Our issue is deep with the Iranian regime, not with the Iranian people.' Bijan Khajepour, a friend and colleague of Siamak Namazi, speaks about his characteristics and his reasons for going to Iran. Shahin Modarres: 'The Islamic Republic is leading the country into a pit of destruction and military confrontation.' The global media's perspective on the exit of American hostages from Iran. The plane carrying the released Americans left Qatar for the United States.