What the US-Iran Prisoner Swap Means For the Family of a Man Freed After 8 Years
Consider This from NPR
NPR
4.2 • 6.2K Ratings
🗓️ 20 September 2023
⏱️ 11 minutes
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Summary
They were released in the US-Iran prisoner swap that also saw five Iranians freed and the US agreeing to 6 billion dollars of Iranian oil money being unfrozen. Per the deal, Iran is supposed to spend the money only on humanitarian goods like food and medicine.
Among the five freed Americans: Siamak Namazi. The longest-held US citizen in Iran, detained since 2015.
When he stepped off that plane yesterday, his brother Babak was there to greet him.
NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Babak Namazi on what the prisoner swap means for his family.
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Transcript
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| 0:21.6 | This money belongs to the Islamic Republic of Iran. |
| 0:25.1 | And naturally, we will decide |
| 0:28.5 | that the Islamic Republic of Iran will decide to spend it wherever we need it. |
| 0:35.3 | That's Ibrahim Rae you see, Iran's president speaking through an interpreter to NBC last week. |
| 0:41.3 | He's referring to the $6 billion of Iranian oil money that the U.S. agreed to have unfrozen as part of a prisoner swap. |
| 0:50.3 | For the deal, Iran is supposed to spend the money only on food, medicine, humanitarian goods. |
| 0:56.4 | But as you just heard, it is not clear that Iran's president plans to stick to that. |
| 1:01.7 | And Republican Congressman Michael McCall, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee raised concern about the money |
| 1:08.2 | in an interview this week with Fox News. |
| 1:10.9 | We all know money is fungible. |
| 1:12.9 | And then the President of Iran just came out and said, |
| 1:15.4 | I'm not spending it however I want to. |
| 1:17.4 | And of course he is and guess where it's going to go. |
| 1:19.9 | It's going to go into terror proxy operations. |
| 1:22.4 | It's going to go into building their nuclear, |
| 1:24.6 | you know, their nuclear not defense system but offensive system. |
| 1:28.5 | On Tuesday, when I spoke with Ibrahim Paley, the State Department envoy who rode home on the plane |
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