Five Americans freed in Iran prisoner swap land in US

A plane carrying five Americans jailed in Iran for years has landed in the US after a controversial prisoner swap.

The US citizens were released as a part of a $6bn (£4.8bn) deal mediated by Qatar.

The last piece of the deal fell into place on Monday when the Iranian cash - held in South Korea - was sent to banks in Doha.

The released prisoners are dual Iranian-US citizens. Five Iranians have also been released from US custody.

Of the five, three chose not to return to Iran.

US officials long maintained that five detainees held in Iran were wrongfully imprisoned for political leverage.

The Americans include 51-year-old businessman Siamak Namazi - who has spent nearly eight years in Tehran's notorious Evin prison - as well as businessman Emad Shargi, 59, and 67-year-old environmentalist Morad Tahbaz, who also holds British citizenship.

The other two prisoners did not wish to be named.

The five Iranians released as part of the deal were mostly imprisoned in the US on charges that they violated US sanctions.

In a statement on Monday, US President Joe Biden welcomed the prisoner swap and said that the Americans would be reunited with their loved one "after enduring years of agony, uncertainty, and suffering".

At the same time, Mr Biden vowed to "continue to impose costs on Iran for their provocative actions in the region".

"And as we welcome home our fellow citizens, I once more remind all Americans of the serious risks of traveling to Iran," he added. "American passport holders should not travel there".

The president's comments came as the US announced fresh sanctions targeting former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Iran's intelligence ministry.

In a statement, one of the released prisoners, Siamak Namazi, said that he "would not be free today, if it wasn't for all of you who didn't allow the world to forget me".

"From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Thank you for being my voice when I could not speak for myself and for making sure I was heard when I mustered the strength to scream from behind the impenetrable walls of Evin Prison," he added.