The Biden administration has made a significant move towards the release of five American citizens detained in Iran by issuing a waiver for international banks to transfer $6 billion in frozen Iranian money from South Korea to Qatar without fear of US sanctions. As part of the deal, the administration has also agreed to release five Iranian citizens held in the United States.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed off on the sanctions waivers last week, and Congress was informed of the decision on Monday. The waivers apply to banks and financial institutions in South Korea, Germany, Ireland, Qatar, and Switzerland.

This move is likely to draw criticism from Republicans and others who argue that it will bolster the Iranian economy at a time when Iran poses a growing threat to US troops and its allies in the Middle East. The primary purpose of the waiver is to enable the conversion of frozen Iranian funds in South Korea and their transfer to Qatar's central bank, where they will be held for Iran to use for the purchase of humanitarian goods.

This transfer of $6 billion was a crucial element in the prisoner release deal, which saw four of the five American detainees transferred from Iranian jails into house arrest last month. The fifth detainee had already been under house arrest. However, due to existing US sanctions on foreign banks engaged in transactions benefiting Iran, several European countries had been reluctant to participate in the transfer.

Secretary Blinken's waiver seeks to address their concerns and ensure that these banks do not face any risk of US sanctions. The American prisoners being held in Iran include Siamak Namazi, who has been detained since 2015 and sentenced to 10 years in prison on spying charges, Emad Sharghi, a venture capitalist also sentenced to 10 years, and Morad Tahbaz, a British-American conservationist of Iranian descent arrested in 2018.

The identities of the fourth and fifth prisoners have not been revealed. Negotiations are ongoing, and it is expected that the detainees will be released as early as next week. This development marks a significant step towards resolving the detainee issue and improving diplomatic relations between the United States and Iran.

However, it remains to be seen how this decision will be received domestically and internationally, with critics arguing that it could have unintended consequences for US national security.