DOHA (Reuters) – Qatar has confirmed that unfrozen Iranian funds worth $6 billion have been transferred to bank accounts in Doha, a source briefed on details of the matter told Reuters on Monday, triggering a U.S.-Iran prisoner swap.
A Qatari aircraft was on standby in Iran on Monday morning to fly five U.S. prisoners and two family members to Doha, the source said.
The swap deal, mediated by Qatar and announced broadly on Aug. 10, allows five U.S. citizens detained by Iran to leave in exchange for the transfer of the funds to banks in Qatar and the release of five Iranians held in the United States.
(Reporting by Andrew Mills; Editing by Nadine Awadalla and Gareth Jones)
