Iran Frees 3 European Nationals: 1 Dane, 2 Austrians

Vienna and Copenhagen have announced that Iran has released two Austrian and one Danish citizen who were imprisoned in the country. The Austrian Foreign Minister, Alexander Schallenberg, expressed his relief that Kamran Ghaderi and Massud Mossaheb were being brought home after “years of arduous detention in Iran.” Meanwhile, Denmark’s Foreign Minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, thanked Oman and Belgium for their help in securing the release of the Danish citizen, whose identity he did not reveal. Oman played a key role in the release, with an Oman Royal Air Force Gulfstream IV transporting the three prisoners to Belgium’s military airport in Melsbroek. Ghaderi and Mossaheb are Iranian-Austrian businessmen who were sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of spying and national security offences. Amnesty International had previously criticised their treatment and called their trials “grossly unfair.” The releases come after Omani Sultan Haitham bin Tariq visited Iran on his first trip there since becoming the Arab nation’s ruler in 2020.