American Prisoners Released from iran and almost home. The lead starts right now. A nightmare almost over. For Five Americans who spent years behind bars in brutal iranian prisons. One was a father locked up when he was tried to visit his jailed son. Coming up, inside of the negotiations to get The Americans released which some critics are calling Hostage Diplom diplomacy. Plus annoyed on the bench. A judge expressing irritation with Jeffrey Clark who trump almost appointed as Attorney General and who didnt bother showing up for todays hearing. And cnn undercover. Looking into what the Mercenary Wagner group is up to in africa. After Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed on suspicious circumstances. Welcome to the lead, the jake tapper. We start with Five Americans who the u. S. Has been wrongfully detained in iran headed home. We saw them for the first time today stepping off a plane in qatar after leaving iran. They are back on a plane headed to the United States. Theyre expected to arrive at a Military Installation outside of d. C. Around 3 00 a. M. Eastern tonight. Tomorrow morning. According to the family of the one of The Americans. Tomorrow marks the end of a years long nightmare for the Five Americans and their family. 51yearold Siamek Ham Assy and 59yearold emad sharghi in 2018 and 69yearold morad tahbaz, facing charges relating to spying by the iranian government. The identity of The Other Two want to remain private and this is a deal in which the u. S. Agrees to dismiss federal charges against five iranians accused of violating u. S. Sanctions. And to unfreeze 6 billion of iranian oil revenue. Iran is only allowed to spend these unfrozen funds on humanitarian purchases. Were told that that will be monitored by the u. S. Treasury. But President Biden is facing criticism from republicans including from former Vice President mike pence who is expected in a speech this hour to say that unfreezing those iranian funds will, quote, foment terrorism across the middle east. Given that iran is a u. S. Designated tate sponsor of Terrorist Groups in gaza, syria, baja rain and throughout the middle east. But President Biden said reunited wrongly Detained Americans have a priority since day one and we will continue to impose costs on iran for their provocative actions in the region. Our coverage starts today with cnns International AnchorBecky Anderson on the ground in doha, qatar, with what we know about each of the Five Americans now on the way home. Reporter smiles, hugs an tears. As Five Americans detained inside of iran for years are finally freed and on their way home. Among them, siamek namazi, arrested in 2015 while on a Business Trip to iran. And charged with having relations with a hostile state. He was irans longest held american prisoner. Feeling abandoned by the u. S. Earlier this year, he appealed directly to President Biden in an unprecedented interview with cnn from inside of the notorious evan prison. Honestly, the other hostages and i desperately need President Biden to finally hear us out, to finally hear our cry for help and bring us home. Reporter also freed, american citizens morad tahbaz and emad sharghi. Tahbaz was arrested while on a trip to iran in 2018. Sharghi, a businessman who moved with his wife to iran from the u. S. In 2017, was also detained in 2018. On similar charges to that of namazi. For years their fate tied to tensions between the two countries. But with the help of a common friend if qatar, break through diplomacy brought us to this very moment. Iran freed the citizens in a deal to release five iranians held in u. S. Prisons. And to unblock 6 billion in frozen iranian funds from south korea. That cash moving from seoul to switzerland before being transferred to doha, after the Biden Administration last week issued a Sanctions Waiver Clearing the way for the money to move. The role of qatar now changing from mediator to guarantor. Ensuring washingtons demands that irans billions are strictly controlled and spent only on humanitarian goods like food and medicine. But critics worry even with dohas oversight, the monies could be spent however tau ran decides. There is also concern this latest deal enables what many critics have dubs tehrans Hostage Diplomacy. But for the freed americans, today, at least, politics will likely be a secondary concern as they finally get to go home after years of mental and physical anguish. Well, this, jake, was a deal 18 months in the making. It started, it was a very much bigger agreement that the u. S. And iranians were looking at. They were looking at Nuclear Talks but as things deteriorated and as we got into the protests in iran and september of 2022, the womens protest, the deadly protest and the deadly crackdown but the iranians and a number of other issues, this deal became very much more focused as far as the u. S. Was concerned around these u. S. Detainees. Joe biden, the president , thanking his partners today, particularly the amir of qatar and the sultan of omar for what he described as extremely difficult negotiations. Eight rounds of negotiations culminating just last month in the detainees being released into house arrest and today arriving here on the tarmac in doha. As you rightly point out, they will be back in the u. S. In the wee hours of the morning. Jake. Becky anderson in doha, thank you so much. Lets bring in jared againster, representing the family of siamek namazi. Weve watched him board the plane in doha. He called you the moment he stepped on the ground. What were his first words to you . He said, jared, im free. And you know, it was a Long Time Coming to say the least. It was extraordinary for me to see him. On a massive screen, im traveling abroad and in a brig screen in my hotel room and coming down off the plane on cnn and moments later for him to call me and it was incredible moving and it waeb just siamek, but his dad who kaz called back to iran who was trying to reach his son for many, many months was called back with a onetime chance to see his son and then he got taken hostage and spent three years in jail and almost died and trapped in iran for several more years and got out a year ago. So this family has been through something that i think nobody could begin to imagine. Siamek in 2015 was charged with having relations with a hostile state. The u. N. Called his detention arbitrary, the u. S. Said he was innocent. You could explain exactly how sea meck handed up in a iranian prison . He went back like many iranian americans do to visit his family. The family came to the United States after the Iran Revolution and became Naturalized Americans and after after many years in the United States, the parns decided to retire there and he went back to visit his parents and he was there and one day the Iranian Revolutionary guard take his passport and start questioning him on a daily basis with his connections with people in various places and then on october 13th of 2015, they said youre not going home and he was taken and held for many, many months until then his father was induced to come back. But, it is interesting because we talk all about this deal and the 6 billion and is It Hostage Taking and the reality is if you look at it from his perspective, there is different between the barack obama and president trump. The only american left behind in january of 2016, secretary kerry said he would be out within a few weeks and instead he becomes a hostage and barack obama and john kerry dont get them out at the end of the obama administration, they are sitting in jail. And donald trump coming into office with this maximum pressure came on iran and i had hoped maybe hell do Something Different and maybe hell bring them home. But the Trump Administration doesnt impose a single sanction on iran connected to Hostage Taking and worse than that, after promising they wouldnt do it, they brought home two other americans leaving the n the namazis two more times and at the end of the Trump Administration, so what is the difference between the trump policy an the obama policy . The question of the Hostage Taking, nothing at all. And the last thing i would say is if you look at the criticism of the president , it is rich of someone like Vice President pence to be going after the president about the 6 billion deal because the only reason why joe biden had to make a deal is because donald trump and Vice President pence failed to bring the namazis home and joe biden had to go ahead and do it. So siamek was hold in one of the most notorious princisons i iran. What did he experience there . We could talk about it more now. He was in a cell that was maybe five or six feet by five or six feet. Concrete floor and no bedding of any kind. Just rock hard. He had a bucket to go to the bathroom in. And really nothing else in the cell. No reading materials, no contact with the outside world. He was literally taken out every day to be interrogated over and over again. He was beaten and tased. He had electrodes connected to his genitals and after his dad was detained they showed him the video of him being detained and he knew his father was clearly in prison, not far from him as it turned out and they said your father just died and were really sorry but youre not allowed out to go to his funeral and left had imthat way in the cell for a full week until they came and told him, well, we were just joking about that. Hes just fine. And this is the kind of monsters that were talking about. Jared, thank you so much. Were so glad that hes on his way home. Thank you so much. Id like to turn now to snazzy, a advocate. Good to see you again. President biden facing a lot of republican criticism for agreeing to this deal to release The Americans, unfreezing the 6 billion of iranian oil revenue. What do you think . Do you think it was a good deal or do you think otherwise . Thanks for having me back, jake. You know, it is complicated. Because im friends with one of the hostages, the namazis, keep in mind that every single hostage is a victim of that regime. And deserves to come home and they are innocent and should be reunited with the loved ones. My heart goes out to shamma and deli who are u. S. Nationals who have been left behind and as jared who i know well and ive worked with, to get to others released knows very well when we fail to bring all hostages home, another deal has to be done down the line to bring other hostages, the ones who are remaining in prison home. So what it does, it incentivized Hostage Taking an that is what im afraid of. And two days after the one Year Anniversary of the mahsa amini, what this sends a message of to i think the people in iran who frankly more than 80 million hostages taken by this regime and it is been hijacked by the 44 year theocracy and it doesnt bode well for them. So i think what we have to do is find the policy once and for all, that puts an end to Hostage Diplomacy. Im very happy that these hostages are coming home. I hope the rest come home soon and i hope the Foreign Minister has said, which is we wont stop Taking Americans prisoner which essentially means hostage. It is false. But from their track record from the past 44 years, they will continue to do this and theyve been incentivized to do so. Its been one year since the death of mahsa amini. She was the 22yearold woman died in the custody of Iranian Morality Police and arrested for not wearing her hijab properly. And he closely followed her story in iran. We set up this interview a long time ago for you to talk about this not the freeing of the hostages. What could you tell us about where things stand right now for the Protest Movements in iran . You no know, on the day on the anniversary of the massas killing, not just in iran, but worldwide, the defiance of the people if iran is awe inspiring. The revolution is live in their hearts and souls. Their numbers arent as high on the street but if you look at past 44 years an the constant uprising, you know, yes, theyve been cracked down on but they keep standing and they keep rising. The time between the ebbs and flows of these protests are getting shorter and shorter. But of course we have to be ready the next time this happens to tip the Balance Of Power in favor of the protesters. All weve done for the past 44 years is really deal with the symptoms of the problem. When it comes to iran. So, Hostage Taking, terrorism, the nuclear issue, but the cause is the Islamic Republic itself. Good to see you again. Thank you so much. Thanks. One american not included bob levinson. It has been 16 years since he vanished thought to be abducted in iran. His sons daniel will join me here on the lead in the next hour. Also ahead, Donald Trumps admission in a sunday interview that may dig himself deeper in legal trouble. 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