Five detained Americans to be freed – NBC Chicago

Iran and the United States will exchange prisoners on Monday after some $6 billion once frozen in South Korea reached Qatar, a key element of the planned swap, officials said.

The planned exchange comes just ahead of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where Iran’s hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi will speak. However, the swap won’t mean that tensions have been lowered between the U.S. and Iran, which now enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels.

The Americans include Siamek Namazi, imprisoned for nearly 8 years, and Emad Shargi and Morad Tahbaz, sources confirmed to NBC News. The two other Americans haven’t been identified.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani was the first to acknowledge the swap would take place Monday. He said the cash sought for the exchange was now in Qatar.

An individual with direct knowledge of the deal, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity given the exchange had yet…