Five Americans imprisoned in Iran were on a plane Monday along with two family members after being released in a prisoner exchange the Biden administration negotiated with Tehran.
As part of the deal, $6 billion in frozen Iranian oil revenues was released by the Biden administration and five Iranians charged or convicted of non-violent crimes were freed by the United States, according to U.S. officials.
The exchange, while not formally linked to stalled nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran, comes against a backdrop of tensions that routinely push the two countries toward a potential military confrontation. It also comes ahead of a United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York this week, where President Joe Biden and Iranian hardline President Ebrahim Raisi will both speak.
In addition, the prisoner exchange could inject some new tensions in the U.S. presidential race. Republican presidential candidates in recent weeks have blasted the Biden administration's decision to push ahead with the prisoner exchange, arguing it amounts to paying a ransom to a state sponsor of terrorism.
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