US Says Deal On Iran Releasing Five US Citizens On Track
An understanding with Iran to eventually release five Americans remains on track, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Tuesday but declined to offer any timeline.
An understanding with Iran to eventually release five Americans remains on track, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Tuesday but declined to offer any timeline.
Iran on August 10 released four imprisoned US citizens into house arrest, where they joined a fifth already under home confinement, in the first step of a deal under which $6 billion in Iranian funds in South Korea would be unfrozen and the five would eventually be allowed to leave.
"We believe that things are proceeding according to the understanding that we've reached with Iran. I don't have an exact timetable for you because there's steps that need to yet unfold. But we believe that that remains on track," Sullivan told reporters in a conference call.
South Korean media reported Monday the money has already been transferred to the Swiss central bank that would convert the funds to euros and send it to Iranian bank accounts in Qatar. Iran’s foreign ministry said Monday that it would take two months for the hostages to be allowed to leave.
Allowing the five to leave Iran, which could take weeks, would remove a major irritant between Washington and Tehran, which remain at odds on issues from the Iranian nuclear program to Tehran's support for regional Shi'ite militias.
The Iranian Americans who were allowed to leave Iran's Evin prison included businessmen Siamak Namazi, 51, and Emad Shargi, 58, as well as environmentalist Morad Tahbaz, 67, who also has British nationality. The identity of the fourth US citizen who left the prison has not been made public, nor has that of the fifth who was already under house arrest.
In an article published on Monday, Ham-Mihan newspaper stated, “Only 10 members of the parliament, with a certain political inclination, passed a bill in a week that is expected to impact the lives of 85 million Iranians, including dissidents.”
The paper added that the law will lead to accusations against a significant portion of society over issues related to women's dress code and hijab. Details about the enactment of the new bill are still unknown, as parliament moved earlier in August to make the new hijab regulations even more opaque by approving the regulations without an open session, fearing further backlash.
Iranian lawmakers voted that the bill can be considered under Article 85 of the constitution, which allows the parliament to delegate the bill's approval to an internal committee, effectively sidelining any opposition.
According to Ham-Mihan, the internal committee consists of the same lawmakers who added about 55 articles to the original "Hijab and Chastity" bill, which initially comprised only 15 articles when submitted by the administration of Ebrahim Raisi.
The paper quoted Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf as saying that discussing a bill with 70 articles in an open session would take a lot of time, especially because about 1,500 points have been suggested by lawmakers to be considered during the discussions. “Some say the parliament is reviewing the bill under Article 85 of the Constitution so that no one understands what is being approved, but this is not true,” Ghalibaf said.
The uprising sparked by the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini in September 2022 has made it increasingly difficult for the clerical regime to enforce the mandatory Islamic dress code. Since the beginning of the ‘Women, Life, Freedom’ movement, tens of thousands of girls and women have shed their compulsory hijab. The regime seeks to criminalize hijab defiance, but no branch of government wants to be solely responsible for the complications of such a provocative and risky action in society.
The fate of the hijab bill, which legal experts claim is against the Iranian Constitution and not practical to implement due to the government's limited means, is still in limbo as conflicting reports circulate about the process. But what is clear is that the government has to devote extensive police and other resources to monitor millions of women, stop those who appear without hijab, issue fines or summon them to court.
This means thousands of confrontations in the streets every day between ordinary women and teenage girls with police and special hijab enforcement agents. It was one such confrontation and arrest that led to Mahsa Amini's death and the most serious antigovernment unrest in 44 years.
Some wonder why the regime has chosen to go the extra mile to force hijab on women, risking another round of protests. Hardliners have answered the question, insisting that the clerical regime cannot retreat from the hijab issue, otherwise it will lose its authority to control the society.
Lawmakers are still voicing opinions and disagreements about how the bill should receive its final seal of approval. Apparently, once the committee approves a bill under the particular constitutional provision, the full chamber has no right to alter it. The Guardian Council, which has the right to review all legislation, will probably review the hijab law too.
