The five Americans who had been detained in Iran for years have just reached Doha, Qatar, as they make the journey back to the United States.
Siamak Namazi, Emad Shargi, and Morad Tahbaz had all been held for more than five years, while two other Americans whom U.S. officials said want to retain their privacy boarded a plane to leave Iran on Monday. Two of their relatives who had been barred from leaving the country were also included in the deal, and they will be reunited with their loved ones in Washington, D.C., in the coming days.U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters he spoke to them once they landed in Doha.
Namazi celebrated his newfound freedom, thanked those responsible, and lamented others being detained in a statement from his lawyer. Namazi was detained in 2015 and later sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of having"relations with a hostile state" that were intentionally condemned, while Emad Shargi was detained in 2018 and also sentenced to a decade in prison in 2021 on unsubstantiated espionage charges. Morad Tahbaz was arrested in January 2018 during a crackdown on environmental activists and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
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