U.S. negotiators say the release of the prisoners is proof that even fierce adversaries can sometimes find their way to an agreement. But the deal almost didn’t happen.
The cause of the fire last weekend remains unclear, but witnesses and families of prisoners say that the authorities had been bracing for unrest in the notorious Evin Prison in northern Tehran.
Evin Prison, in Tehran, houses thousands of dissidents and political prisoners. Witnesses described hearing gunshots and explosions as a blaze made its way through the facility on Saturday.
Caracas let go seven Americans in a trade for two nephews of Venezuela’s first lady who had been convicted on drug charges. Separately, Tehran freed its longest-held American prisoner.