The U.S. and Iran have recently agreed to trade prisoners captured in each country. On Dec. 7, American Princeton graduate Xiyue Wang was swapped for Iranian Professor Massoud Soleimani, who was allegedly arrested for breaking U.S. sanctions on Tehran by trying to transport biological material related to human growth hormones. 

Wang was kept in Iranian captivity for about three years at Evin Prison in Tehran, which is known to hold Iran’s political prisoners. Wang was accused of espionage by the Iranian government; they claim that he was trying to infiltrate Iran on behalf of U.S. intelligence agencies. Princeton and the U.S. State Department have denied these accusations. 

According to Princeton University, Wang was in the country for “to continue his language studies and conduct dissertation research at libraries in Iran” after attending “a Farsi language program at the Dehkhoda Lexicon Institute & International Center for Persian Studies” on a previous trip before his arrest in August 2016. 

This negotiation was able to occur due to help from Switzerland, which represents the U.S. in Iran. Wang has been released to Switzerland after about four weeks of negotiations. At the time of writing, he was undergoing a medical check up at the “U.S. Army-operated Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany,” according to CNN. 

Wang will be returning to his wife and son, whom he last saw when he was two years old. Wang’s wife, Mrs. Hua Qu, has previously stated, “My husband is an academic researcher. He’s a father, husband. He is not a political figure, and he is definitely not a spy.” 

Before Wang was released from Iranian custody, his son was quoted telling his teacher “When I grow up, my daddy will come home.”

U.S. officials hope this prisoner swap continues to improve relationships between the two nations or at least allow for similar prisoner swaps in the future. According to NBC News, Americans still imprisoned in Iran include Siamak and Baquer Namazi, navy veteran Michael White, and former FBI agent Robert Levinson.

Wang’s freedom is a starting point in efforts to bring more Americans home. As Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, puts it, “The United States will not rest until we bring every American detained in Iran and around the world back home to their loved ones.”

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