Thailand says it has transferred three Iranians involved in a botched 2012 bomb plot back to Tehran as Iran released Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert who was imprisoned for more than two years on spying charges.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
While Thai officials declined to call it a swap and Iran referred to the men as "economic activists," the arrangement freed Moore-Gilbert and resulted in the three men linked to a wider bomb plot targeting Israeli diplomats returning home to a hero's welcome.
The bombers wore Iranian flags draped over their shoulders, their faces largely obscured by black baseball caps and surgical masks.
It was a sharp contrast to other prisoner exchanges Iran has trumpeted in the past, in which television anchors repeatedly said their names and broadcasters aired images of them reuniting with their families.
The reason for Iran's refusal to name those freed remains unclear.
However, officials in Tehran have long denied being behind the bomb plot and likely hope to leverage the incoming administration of US president-elect Joe Biden to ease US sanctions imposed by President Donald Trump.
Israeli officials declined to immediately comment on the release.
Chatchom Akapin, Thailand's deputy attorney general, told the Associated Press that Thai authorities had approved the transfer of the prisoners under an agreement with Iran.
"These types of transfers aren't unusual," he said.
"We transfer prisoners to other countries and at the same time receive Thais back under this type of agreement all the time."
A Thai Corrections Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity said only two of the Iranians were sent home on Wednesday under the prison transfer agreement, while one received a pardon in September.
Under transfer agreements, returnees are supposed to serve the remainder of their sentences in their home country.
Thailand has such agreements with about three dozen countries.
However, Iranian state television video of the men's arrival suggested that a return to prison seemed unlikely as officials showered them with flowers and offered shouted praise to God and the Prophet Mohammed.
The plane that carried the men from Bangkok to Iran had a tail number linking it to an Australian private air carrier called Skytraders, which describes itself as a "principal provider of air services to government".
An employee at the company declined to comment when reached by the AP.
The plane had flown twice this week from Bangkok to Tehran and then on to Doha in Qatar, flight data obtained by the AP showed.
Authorities declined to say where Moore-Gilbert was on Thursday, though she thanked Australia's government and diplomats in a statement for securing her release, as well as supporters who campaigned for her freedom.
Despite her ordeal, Moore-Gilbert said she had "nothing but respect, love and admiration for the great nation of Iran and its warm-hearted, generous and brave people."
Asked about the swap, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he "wouldn't go into those details, confirm them one way or the other".
However, he said he could assure Australians there had been nothing done to prejudice their safety and no prisoners were released in Australia.
Thai police discovered the three Iranians' plot in 2012 when an accidental explosion blew apart their rented Bangkok villa.
At the time, Iran was suspected in two bombing attempts in India and in Georgia targeting Israeli diplomats amid heightened tensions over its nuclear program.
Its own nuclear scientists, meanwhile, had been killed in attacks long suspected to have been carried out by Israel.
Police say one of the Iranians, Saeid Moradi, threw a grenade at officers that bounced backed and exploded, shearing away his legs.
Moradi was sentenced to life for attempting to murder a police officer.
Another man, Mohammad Kharzei, received a 15-year sentence for possessing explosives.
The sentence of the third man, Masoud Sedaghatzadeh, wasn't immediately known.
Kharzei was the Iranian who was said to have been pardoned this past September, the Thai corrections official said.
Moore-Gilbert was a Melbourne University lecturer on Middle Eastern studies when she was picked up at the Tehran airport as she tried to leave the country after attending an academic conference in 2018.
She was sent to Tehran's notorious Evin prison, convicted of spying and sentenced to 10 years.
She vehemently denied the charges and maintained her innocence.
Australian Associated Press