Iranian American Siamak Namazi, jailed in Iran for almost seven years on espionage-related charges rejected by Washington as baseless, has been allowed out of Tehran's Evin prison for one week.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Separately, his father, former United Nations official Baquer Namazi, also convicted on charges of "collaboration with a hostile government", has been allowed to leave Iran for medical treatment, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.
It was unclear if the moves are a step toward Siamak's full release or whether they signal the possible release of other United States citizens detained in Iran.
Iran's Nournews said an unnamed regional nation had mediated between Tehran and Washington for the "simultaneous release of prisoners".
The semi-official news agency also reported "billions of dollars of Iran's frozen assets because of the US sanctions will be released soon".
US State Department spokesman Ned Price said the department was grateful Siamak Namazi "has been granted a humanitarian furlough in order to be with his father".
"We were deeply gratified to learn from the UN Secretary-General that Iran has lifted the travel ban imposed on Baquer Namazi," he said in a statement.
It was unclear what motivated Tehran's decisions.
Price thanked US allies and partners who worked to help the Namazis, including the UN Secretary-General, Switzerland, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and the United Kingdom.
Iran is grappling with the biggest show of opposition to its clerical authorities since 2019, with dozens of people killed in unrest across the country ignited by the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman from Iranian Kurdistan.
Baquer Namazi, 85, was convicted in Iran of "collaboration with a hostile government" in 2016 and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Iranian authorities released him on medical grounds in 2018 and closed his case in 2020, commuting his sentence to time served and barring him from leaving the country.
Son Siamak, 51, has been held in Evin prison since 2015 and was convicted of the same charge as his father in 2016.
The US government has described the charges against both as baseless.
The family's lawyer, Jared Genser, told Reuters Siamak was staying with his parents at their Tehran apartment.
"This is a critical first step but of course we will not rest until the entire family is able to return to the United States and their long nightmare is finally over," Genser said.
Iranian Americans, whose US citizenship is not recognised by Tehran, are often pawns between the two nations, now at odds over whether to revive a fraying 2015 pact under which Iran limited its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.
Other US citizens detained in Iran include environmentalist Morad Tahbaz, 67, who is also a British national, and businessman Emad Shargi, 58.
Karim Sadjadpour, an analyst with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think tank in Washington, said the Namazis should never have been imprisoned.
"The Islamic Republic deserves no credit for temporarily releasing hostages that never deserved to spend a single day in prison," he said.
Australian Associated Press
