CNN– US President Joe Biden celebrated the return of five Americans the US considered wrongfully detained by Iran “after enduring years of agony, uncertainty, and suffering.”
“Today, five innocent Americans who were imprisoned in Iran are finally coming home,” Biden wrote in a statement released Monday, shortly before the Americans were scheduled to land in Doha, Qatar. “I am grateful to our partners at home and abroad for their tireless efforts to help us achieve this outcome, including the Governments of Qatar, Oman, Switzerland, and South Korea.”
The president also called on Iran to “give a full account of what happened to Bob Levinson,” saying his family “deserves answers.”
“Today, we are sanctioning former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence under the Levinson Act for their involvement in wrongful detentions. And, we will continue to impose costs on Iran for their provocative actions in the region,” Biden wrote.
He called bringing wrongfully detained Americans home a priority for his administration “since day one,” and said the US would, “remain unflinching in our efforts to keep faith with them and their families—and we will not stop working until we bring home every American held hostage or wrongfully detained.”