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Iran-US prisoner swap ongoing after $6bn transfer
Iran has released five American prisoners, moving them to Tehran’s airport for a flight to the Qatari capital, Doha, as part of a prisoner exchange with the United States.
Four of the five were moved to house arrest last month as part of the deal. The fifth prisoner had been moved to house arrest earlier.
Monday’s developments signal that the prisoner exchange clinched last month has gone through. The agreement also includes a release of frozen Iranian funds.
The Agreement:
The United States and Iran will each free five prisoners under an agreement that also involves the transfer of $6bn of frozen Iranian assets from South Korea.
The deal first made public on August 10, will remove a major irritant between Washington and Tehran although the rivals remain deeply at odds over a range of other issues.
Iran and the US have a history of prisoner swaps dating back to the 1979 US embassy takeover and hostage crisis following the Iranian Revolution.
There has been no indication the prisoner deal will spur movement on restoring the 2015 Iran nuclear accord, which saw Tehran scale back its nuclear programme in exchange for a lifting of international sanctions against its economy. The US withdrew from that agreement in 2018.
The prisoners :
Five Iranian prisoners are expected to be released by the US as part of the deal:
Kaveh Afrasiabi, a political scientist and US resident who was charged with being an unregistered agent for the Iranian government.
Mehrdad Moein Ansari, a 40-year-old Iranian resident of the United Arab Emirates and Germany who was convicted of violating sanctions on Iran.
Amin Hassanzadeh, a permanent US resident accused four years ago of stealing secrets to send to Iran.
Reza Sarhangpour Kafrani, a 46-year-old who is also a Canadian national charged with illegally exporting laboratory equipment to Iran.
Kambiz Attar Kashani, a 44-year-old dual national convicted of conspiring to illegally export technologies and goods to Iran.
Only two of the Iranian prisoners will return to Iran, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman said. “One of them, as he has family in another country, will be moved to join them in that third country, and apparently two of our citizens imprisoned in the US have said they wish to remain there due to their history of staying there,” Kanani said.
The identities of three of the American prisoners, all of whom were arrested on charges of espionage and collaborating with a foreign government, are known. They are:
Siamak Namazi, a 51-year-old businessman held in Evin Prison since 2015, making him the longest-serving American prisoner in Iran.
Emad Sharghi, a 59-year-old businessman arrested in 2018.
Morad Tahbaz, a 67-year-old environmentalist who also holds British citizenship and was arrested in 2018.
The identities of the other two prisoners have remained secret, but Western media have reported that one is a woman.
(Aljazeera)
President Anura Kumara Disanayake held a discussion with the Attorney General and officials from the Attorney General’s Department at the Presidential Secretariat today (06).
During the discussion, the President emphasized the importance of coordinated efforts among all institutions working towards the effective enforcement of the law.
President Disanayake also highlighted the critical responsibility of the Attorney General’s Department to restore public confidence in the judicial system. He further stressed that public perception regarding political interference must be transformed to ensure trust in the legal process.
The President reiterated the government’s commitment to avoiding any actions that could erode public expectations. He assured that efforts are being made to re-establish confidence in the justice system and restore the principles of fairness and equity in the eyes of the people.
The meeting was attended by Minister of Justice and National Integration Harshana Nanayakkara, Secretary to the Ministry of Public Security Ravi Seneviratne, Attorney General Parinda Ranasinghe PC, along with several officials from the Attorney General’s Department.
A senior Hamas official has shared with the BBC a list of 34 hostages that the Palestinian group says it is willing to release in the first stage of a potential ceasefire agreement with Israel.
It is unclear how many of those named remain alive. All but two were captured during Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.
The ages of those on the list range from just one year old to 86. It also includes children who Hamas previously said had been killed in an Israeli air strike.
A number of hostages who Hamas says are sick are also on the list.
The Israeli prime minister’s office denied reports that Hamas had provided Israel with a list of hostages.
“The list of hostages published in the media was not passed on to Israel by Hamas, but was originally passed from Israel to intermediaries as early as July 2024,” it said. “To date, Israel has not received any confirmation or comment from Hamas regarding the status of the abductees on the list.”
British Israeli Emily Damari, who was shot and taken from kibbutz Kfar Azar on 7 October, is among the names on the list. The 28-year-old is one of five civilian women named alongside five female surveillance soldiers.
They include 19 year old Liti Albag, who appeared in a video posted by Hamas at the weekend, in which she was seen urging her government to make a deal.
Also on the list are two brothers – Kfir Bibas, a one-year-old approaching his second birthday, and 5-year-old Ariel – who were taken hostage along with their parents. Hamas has previously said the children were killed in an Israeli air strike.
Two Israelis held in Gaza for around a decade are also among the 34 names. They are Hisham al-Sayed, a Bedouin Arab who was seized in 2015, and Ethiopian Israeli Avera Mengistu, who was reportedly suffering from mental health issues and was taken captive after crossing into Gaza a year earlier.
Families of hostages said in a statement that they were “deeply shaken and distressed” by the list.
“The time has come for a comprehensive agreement that will bring back all hostages – we know more than half are still alive and need immediate rehabilitation, while those who were murdered must be returned for proper burial. We have no more time to waste. A hostage ceasefire agreement must be sealed now!”
Hamas’s decision to release the names of hostages will be seen by some as an attempt to increase public pressure on the Israeli government.
Ceasefire negotiations resumed in Doha, Qatar, over the weekend, but the talks do not appear to have made significant progress yet.
A Hamas official told the Reuters news agency any agreement to return Israeli hostages would depend on a deal for Israel to withdraw from Gaza and a permanent ceasefire or end to the war. “However, until now, the occupation continues to be obstinate over an agreement over the issues of the ceasefire and withdrawal, and has made no step forward,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Israel and Hamas have consistently accused each other of obstructing progress towards a ceasefire deal.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Seoul on Monday that he was “confident that a deal will get its completion at some point, hopefully sooner rather than later”, though he conceded it might happen after Joe Biden leaves office on 20 January.
About 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken hostage in the unprecedented attack, which triggered a massive Israeli military campaign in Gaza. A hundred and five of the hostages were freed in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel in November 2023. Fifty other hostages have been released, rescued or their bodies recovered.
At least 45,805 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive, Gaza’s health ministry says.
Reports from the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry say Israeli air strikes killed more than 100 people there at the weekend.
The Israeli military said on Sunday that its air force had attacked more than 100 “terrorist” sites across the Gaza Strip over the weekend, killing dozens of Hamas fighters.
The names on the list of hostages provided by Hamas:
Romi Gonen (24); Emily Damari (28); Arbel Yehoud (29); Doron Steinbrecher (31); Ariel Bibas (5); Kfir Bibas (1); Shiri Silberman Bibas (33); Liri Albag (19); Karina Ariev (20); Agam Berger (20); Daniel Gilboa (20); Naama Levy (20); Ohad Ben-Ami (55); Gad Moshe Moses (80); Keith Shmuel Siegel (65); Offer Kaldaron (53); Eliyahu Sharabi (52); Itzhak Elgaret (69); Shlomo Mansur (86); Ohad Yahalomi (50); Yousef Yousef Alziadna (54); Oded Lifshitz (84); Tsachi Idan (50); Hisham al-Sayed (36); Yarden Bibas (35); Sagi Dekel Chen (36); Iair Horn (46); Omer Wenkert (23); Alexandre Troufanov (28); Eliya Cohen (27); Or Levy (34); Avera Mengistu (38); Tal Shoham (39); Omer Shem Tov (21).
Latest News
Narcotics and prescription drugs valued over Rs. 28158 million seized during naval operations in 2024
The Navy’s operations in 2024 yielded impressive results, bringing to justice 407 persons, both local and foreign, involved in a wide array of illegal acts such as smuggling of narcotics, prescription drugs, and contraband as well as apprehending those involved in human smuggling. These operations were conducted in close coordination with law enforcement agencies and maritime partners in the region. Meanwhile, the gross street value of narcotics and prescription drugs seized in these operations has been valued at over Rs. 28158 million.
The Sri Lanka Navy consistently carries out operations in partnership with regional maritime partners, to address an assortment of illicit activities, including drug trafficking, within the ocean region.
The Navy has collaborated closely with the Sri Lanka Police, Police Narcotic Bureau, Police STF, Excise Department and other law enforcement agencies as well as the Indian Navy and Maldivian Coast Guard, actively sharing information during these operations. In such operations conducted in 2024, significant quantities of illicit substances were seized, including more than 622kg of heroin worth [street value] over Rs. 15554 million , more than 1211kg of Crystal Methamphetamine (ICE) worth over Rs. 11508 million, more than 1752kg of Kerala cannabis worth over Rs. 700 million, more than 119kg of local cannabis worth over Rs. 23 million and 1,179,746 prescription drugs worth over Rs. 373 million. In addition, based on information by the Navy, the Police and Police STF destroyed 107626 plants of local cannabis.
Additionally, 21 local fishing boats along with 230 individuals suspected of involvement in drug trafficking have been apprehended and produced for onward legal action. Accordingly, the gross street value of narcotics and prescription drugs held in the operations in the past year has been valued at over Rs. 28158 million.
Also, the Navy has apprehended 02 suspects attempting to illegally sell 226 bottles of liquor as well as 234670 illegal cigarettes, 972 aphrodisiacs (madana modaka) drug pills and 52 suspects in connection to those illegal acts. Moreover, 11 elephant pearls and over 04kg of gold, made ready to be smuggled from the country, with 14 suspects were held as part of the naval operations in the year 2024. Apart from that, the Navy intercepted a craft with 05 individuals, for smuggling wild animals, through island waters.
The Navy also seized over 65687kg of smuggled Tendu leaves, more than 7272kg of dried turmeric, over 368kg of ginger, 8330 bottles and 56786 packets of agrochemical, 727 cosmetic products and apprehended 81 Sri Lankan nationals, 03 Indian nationals and an Indian dhow in the past year. Preventive of human smuggling and illegal migration efforts, the Navy held 01 boat from India and 20 persons for their involvement in human smuggling. Upon being held, they were handed over to authorities for legal proceedings.
As part of the “Clean Sri Lanka” national initiative, the Sri Lanka Navy has strategized its operations for 2025, aiming to combat illegal activities, including drug trafficking in the country’s maritime zones, promote maritime stability, and support the realization of Sri Lanka’s national maritime aspirations.
[Navy Media]
President and Attorney General discuss controversial legal proceedings
Hamas lists 34 hostages it may free under ceasefire
Narcotics and prescription drugs valued over Rs. 28158 million seized during naval operations in 2024
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