iranprisoners

BREAKING NEWS: five American citizens who were wrongly detained in Iran are now back in the US, freed as part of a deal that includes the release of five American-held Iranian citizens and $6 billion in humanitarian funds. Plus, President Biden is to deliver a UN speech today as key leadership skips the gathering. And, Kevin McCarthy shrugs off threats to oust him as House Speaker as he grapples with GOP infighting and a looming government shutdown. Also this morning: Trump is to skip the second GOP presidential debate for a Detroit prime-time speech, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleges India is involved in the death of a Canadian Sikh leader, and the UAW chief says more autoworkers will walk off the job if there's “no serious progress” in pay and benefits negotiations by noon this Friday. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On Monday, five Americans who were imprisoned in Iran, stepped off a plane in Doha, Qatar. They were freed as part of a prisoner exchange deal between the U.S. and Iran.

Despite the happy news, the Biden administration is facing a lot of criticism for this deal, which also gave Iran access to about $6 billion of its oil revenue - money that had been frozen under sanctions targeting the government in Tehran.

The deal also comes just a little over a year after the death of a young Kurdish-Iranian woman named Mahsa Amini. Her death sparked the biggest anti-regime protests that Iran had seen in years.

NPR's Arezou Rezvani tells us about the legacy of those protests a year later. We also hear reporting from NPR's Michele Kelemen about the U.S.-Iran prisoner swap.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

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BREAKING NEWS: after months of negotiations, Iran is expected to release 5 American prisoners today in exchange for the release of five Iranian prisoners held in the US, and the release of $6B in funds from South Korea to Qatar, which is to be spent on humanitarian goods. Plus Stellantis is to meet with UAW as the autoworkers strike enters day-four over pay and benefits. And, a UK documentary dives into allegations of rape and sexual assault against Russell Brand. Also this morning: in a candid interview with NBC’s “Meet The Press”, Trump refuses to take a clear stance on abortion restrictions and says it was “my decision” to try to subvert the 2020 election results, and a Rolling Stone co-founder is removed from the Rock Hall Board after saying the black and female artists he has encountered professionally, are “not articulate”. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices