Iranian-American physician arrives in Tehran from US after prisoner exchange
An Iranian-American doctor has returned to Iran after a swap deal between Tehran and Washington that resulted in the mutual release of a US navy veteran.
Majid Taheri, detained in the United States for 16 months for violating US sanctions, was freed on 4 June as Iran released Michael White, who had been sentenced to 13 years in 2019 for insulting Iran’s supreme leader and posting private information online.
Taheri said he had been punished by the United States for sending material to Iran to help a research group that was making vaccines.
An emotional Taheri was seen hugging his children upon his arrival at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Airport on Monday.
“The government of Iran has done an extreme effort in order to help people like me who were somehow accused of violating the US sanctions,” Taheri told state TV from the airport, where he was welcomed by Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi-Ansari.
Taheri had been accused of violating US sanctions by sending a technical item to Iran and in December pleaded guilty to charges he violated financial reporting requirements by depositing $277,344 at a bank, repeatedly showing up with loose cash, according to court documents.
A US federal judge issued an order to free Taheri on time served.
Ansari expressed his hope to "see the release of [other Iranians imprisoned abroad] in the near future” and said that his ministry would do its best to achieve this, local media reported.
Ansari added that the Iranian-American was freed after months of efforts by the ministry in coordination with Switzerland, whose embassy in Tehran handles US interests.
The move signals a slight thaw in Washington-Tehran animosity, and comes a week after another Iranian scientist, Sirous Asgari, returned home following his release from a US jail in what state media said was a prisoner exchange Tehran hopes can be repeated between the arch-foes.
After Taheri’s return to Iran, government spokesperson Ali Rabiei said in a televised statement: “Tehran is fully ready to swap all prisoners [with the US], and the US government is responsible for any delay.”
He called US President Donald Trump’s invitation to negotiation with Iran a “political show”.
"If the #UnitedStates is eager to negotiate, it can return to the negotiating table it left."
While both Tehran and Washington have expressed readiness for further exchange of prisoners, Iranian authorities have ruled out a wider negotiation with the United States as demanded by the Trump administration.
The Swiss foreign ministry, which confirmed it played a role in what it called “the humanitarian gesture” on White and Taheri, said it “stands ready” to help further.
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