Siamak Namazi allowed to leave Iran prison for a week

Aljazeera – Oct 2nd 2022

An Iranian-American imprisoned in Iran for nearly seven years on espionage-related charges has been allowed out of Tehran’s Evin prison on a one-week furlough, his lawyer said.

Siamak Namazi’s temporary release on Saturday came as his father, former United Nations official Baquer Namazi, who was also convicted on spying charges, was permitted to leave Iran for medical treatment.

It was not clear if the moves might be a step towards Siamak’s full release, nor whether it signals the possible furlough or release of other United States citizens detained in Iran.

Iranian Americans, whose US citizenship is not recognized 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.

Soon after news of Siamak’s furlough broke, 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 that “billions of dollars of Iran’s frozen assets because of the US sanctions will be released soon”.

There was no official comment from the Iranian government.