New U.S.-Iran Prisoner Swap? What Strings Are Attached?

This article originally appeared in Newsmax on August 11, 2023

Thursday, the Biden administration announced it reached an agreement to swap five American prisoners unjustly held by Iran, in exchange for the United States releasing an unstated number of Iranian prisoners, as well as unfreezing six billion dollars in Iranian funds; money held in South Korea.

According to Biden administration officials, these funds will be provided to Iran through an intermediary – Qatar – which supposedly will ensure this money is only used for humanitarian purposes such as medicine and food.

The full details of the prisoner exchange have not been announced.

The five Americans (some of them dual American/Iranian citizens) were jailed at Iran’s brutal Evin Prison on false espionage charges.

They were released from that facility and are now under house arrest in Iran.

A Biden administration spokesperson said the prisoner exchange has not been finalized, claiming that "negotiations for their eventual release remain ongoing and are delicate."

Biden officials must address two troubling issues related to the prisoner swap immediately...

Read full op-ed in Newsmax