Iran has released five detained Americans from prison

The US has confirmed that Iran has released five detained Americans from prison, although they remain on house arrest and negotiations for their eventual release remain ongoing, a National Security Council spokesperson said on Thursday.

The Iranian Americans include businessmen Siamak Namazi, 51, and Emad Shargi, 58, as well as environmentalist Morad Tahbaz, 67, who also has British nationality, said Jared Genser, a lawyer who represents Namazi. The fourth US citizen's identity has not been made public.

"The move by Iran of the American hostages from Evin Prison to an expected house arrest is an important development," Genser said in a statement. "While I hope this will be the first step to their ultimate release, this is at best the beginning of the end and nothing more…. There are simply no guarantees about what happens from here."

Freeing the four would remove a major irritant between the United States and Iran, though the nations remain at odds on issues from the Iranian nuclear program to Tehran's support for Shi'ite militias in nations such as Iraq and Lebanon.

Namazi has spent seven years behind bars

Namazi, who in 2016 was convicted of espionage-related charges the United States has rejected as baseless, has been detained by Iran for more than seven years. His father, Baquer, was allowed to leave Iran in October for medical treatment after being detained on similar charges also rejected by Washington.

Tahbaz was arrested in 2018 and sentenced to 10 years in prison for "assembly and collusion against Iran's national security" and working for the United States as a spy. Shargi was convicted of espionage in 2020 and also sentenced to 10 years.