Iran Releases Three European Citizens In Deal Involving Oman, Belgium
On June 2, Iran freed two Austrian and one Danish citizens in a follow up to a recent Oman-brokered prisoner swap deal that saw the release of an Iranian diplomat by Belgium.
Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said he was “very relieved” that Kamran Ghaderi and Massud Mossaheb were being brought home after “years of arduous imprisonment in Iran.”
From his side, Denmark’s foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, said that he was “happy and relieved that a Danish citizen is on his way home to his family in Denmark after imprisonment in Iran.” However, he didn’t name the person, saying their identity was “a personal matter” and he couldn’t go into details.
Both Schallenberg and Rasmussen thanked Oman and Belgium for their important role in securing the release of their citizens.
Last week, Brussels released Iranian diplomat, Assadollah Assadi, in exchange for a Belgian aid worker named Olivier Vandecasteele who was held by Tehran. The prisoner swap deal was brokered by Oman,
Assadi was convicted in Belgium in 2021 in connection to a foiled bomb plot in France and sentenced to 20 years in prison, while Vandecasteele was accused by Iran of espionage and sentenced last January to a lengthy prison term, 74 lashes and a $1 million fine.
The releases of the three additional European citizens came after Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq paid his first visit to Iran since becoming the Arab nation’s ruler in 2020.
Oman often serves an interlocutor between Iran and the West on issues ranging from nuclear talks, to sanctions and prisoners. The recent successful prisoner swap deal will likely help de-escalate tensions between Iran and the European Union.
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