SYDNEY: An Australian-British academic has been freed in Iran after more than two years in jail for spying and said Thursday her release — part of a swap for three Iranians — had ended a "long and traumatic ordeal".
After more than 800 days imprisoned on spying charges, Middle East scholar Kylie Moore-Gilbert said departing Iran would be "bittersweet" despite the "injustices" she had endured.
"I came to Iran as a friend and with friendly intentions," she said in a statement distributed by the Australian government while praising "warm-hearted, generous and brave" Iranians.
The first images of a freed Moore-Gilbert emerged from Iranian state television late Wednesday, sparking elation from friends and family who had campaigned hard against her 10-year sentence and adamantly protested her innocence.
"We are relieved and ecstatic," the family said in a statement. "We cannot convey the overwhelming happiness that each of us feel at this incredible news."
In footage broadcast by Iran's Iribnews from Tehran airport, Moore-Gilbert was seen wearing a headscarf and a Covid facemask, accompanied by the Australian ambassador.
Seemingly aware of the camera, she removed the mask, helping to confirm her identity, before being seen getting into a white van.
Australian Prime Minister Morrison said he had spoken to Moore-Gilbert, describing her tone of voice as "very uplifting", but said she was still processing her release.
"She's an extraordinary, strong, courageous and intelligent person to be able to get through this awful ordeal," he told Channel 9, adding she would receive debriefings, health and psychological support on her return to Australia.
"It'll be quite an adjustment when she gets home."
Friends told AFP they were "over the moon" at the news and in a joint statement said: "today is a very bright day".
There was no immediate confirmation of the identity of the three Iranians who were part of the reported prisoner swap, or where they came from.
Iran's state Iribnews reported "a businessman and two (other) Iranian citizens detained abroad on the basis of false accusations were freed in exchange for a spy with dual nationality working for" Israel, identifying Moore-Gilbert by name.
The outlet showed video of three unidentified men - one of them in a wheelchair - draped in Iranian flags and being met by officials including Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Moore-Gilbert's arrest was confirmed by Iran in September 2019.
But it is believed that the lecturer in Islamic Studies at the University of Melbourne was arrested at Tehran airport by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a year earlier after attending an academic conference in the city of Qom, in central Iran.
According to letters smuggled out of prison, Moore-Gilbert, who is in her early 30s, had rejected Tehran's offer to work as a spy.
She wrote that the first 10 months she spent in a wing of Tehran's notorious Evin prison run by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had "gravely damaged" her mental health.
"I am not a spy. I have never been a spy and I have no interest to work for a spying organisation in any country."
She said she had been shown two different decisions to her appeal — one for a 13-month sentence, another confirming the original sentence of 10 years.
"I am still denied phone calls and visitations, and I am afraid that my mental and emotional state may further deteriorate if I remain in this extremely restrictive detention ward," she wrote.
She was eventually transferred to the general women's section of Evin prison, where British-Iranian woman Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was held until being granted temporary leave due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband said she was "really happy" when he told her about Moore-Gilbert's release.
"I don't know what it means for us, it's definitely a good thing for Kylie and it's definitely a good thing for all of us that deals are being done," Richard Ratcliffe said.
Throughout Moore-Gilbert's internment, friends and family had become increasingly critical of what they said was Australia's diplomatic approach.
Australian foreign minister Marise Payne said the release followed "determined work" and described the case as "complex and sensitive".
Iran, which has tense relations with the West, has over the years arrested several foreign nationals, most often on accusations of spying.
They include French-Iranian academic Fariba Adelkhah, who was detained in the Islamic republic in June 2019.
Two other Australians, travel bloggers Jolie King and Mark Firkin, were released in October 2019, in another apparent swap.
The US State Department welcomed Moore-Gilbert's release but said "she should never have been imprisoned".
"The Iranian regime continues to engage in hostage diplomacy, and we caution all Americans from travelling to Iran as it seeks to gain further leverage," a spokesperson said.
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British-Australian academic freed in Iran prisoner swap hails end of ‘traumatic ordeal’
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British-Australian academic freed in Iran prisoner swap hails end of ‘traumatic ordeal’
- “I came to Iran as a friend and with friendly intentions and depart Iran with those sentiments not only still intact, but strengthened,” Moore-Gilbert said
- According to letters smuggled out of prison, she had rejected Tehran's offer to work as a spy
Iran’s unrelenting attacks on Mideast shipping and energy infrastructure send oil prices soaring
- With traffic in the Strait effectively stopped, the price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose another 9 percent on Thursday to more than $100 a barrel
DUBAI: Unrelenting Iranian attacks on shipping traffic and energy infrastructure pushed oil above $100 a barrel on Thursday, as American and Israeli strikes pounded the Islamic Republic with no sign of an end to the war in sight.
Iran hit a container ship off the coast of Dubai, caused a blaze near Bahrain’s international airport, targeted a major Saudi oil field with a drone attack and forced Iraq to halt operations at all the country’s oil terminals after an attack on its port of Basra on the Arabian Gulf.
Iran flouted a United Nations Security Council resolution from the previous day demanding that it halt strikes on its Gulf neighbors with new attacks also reported in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
Sirens wailed before dawn in Jerusalem after Israel said it was working to intercept missiles launched from Iran. The country also announced it had begun a “wide-scale wave of strikes” on Tehran. In Lebanon, where Israel says it is targeting Iran-linked Hezbollah militants, 11 people were killed in two early morning strikes.
Since the United States and Israel sparked with war with a Feb. 28 attack on Iran, Tehran has embarked on a campaign generated at inflicting enough global economic pain to pressure them to relent in their attacks.
In addition to attacking energy infrastructure around the region, Iran has a stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway leading from the Arabian Gulf toward the Indian Ocean through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported.
With traffic in the Strait effectively stopped, the price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose another 9 percent on Thursday to more than $100 a barrel, up some 38 percent over what it cost when the war started.
Iran fires at multiple Gulf Arab countries and hits ship in Arabian Gulf
The UN Security Council voted Wednesday to approve a resolution demanding a halt to Iran’s “egregious attacks” on its Gulf neighbors, but Tehran showed no signs of changing its strategy.
As the day began Thursday, a container ship in the Arabian Gulf was hit with a projectile off the coast of Dubai, sparking a small fire, according to British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center. It said the crew of the vessel were safe.
In Bahrain, an early Iranian attack sparked a major fire on Muharraq Island, home to the country’s international airport. Authorities urged people to stay indoors and close windows to avoid smoke. The airport has jet fuel tanks, and other tanks in the area serve the kingdom’s oil industry.
Kuwait’s Defense Ministry said an Iranian drone smashed into a residential building, wounding two people, the UAE said it had activated air defenses twice to protect Dubai from attacks, and firefighters extinguished a blaze at a tower in Dubai Creek Harbor after a drone hit.
Saudi Arabia said it had shot down a drone targeting the diplomatic quarter of the capital, Riyadh, and also reported downing drones in kingdom’s east, including at least one trying to target its Shaybah oil field in the Empty Quarter desert.
Following an attack on Iraq’s Basra port that killed at least one person, officials said Thursday that it had been forced to halt operations at all the country’s oil terminals.
Farhan Al-Fartousi, the director-general of the General Company for Ports of Iraq, said the attack targeted a vessel in a ship-to-ship transfer area of the Arabian Gulf port.
Explosions rock Jerusalem while Lebanon and Tehran are hit by Israeli strikes
Sirens wailed and loud explosions were heard shortly after midnight in Jerusalem and other parts of Israel. The Israeli military said it was responding with another “wide-scale wave of strikes” in Tehran.
Overnight missile launches from Iran and Hezbollah also sent Israelis to shelters in multiple other areas, including Tel Aviv and the northern border with Lebanon.
An Israeli strike hit a car Thursday in Ramlet Al-Bayda, a major seaside tourist area of Beirut where dozens of displaced people have been sheltering. Eight people were killed and 31 others were wounded, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. The Israeli military press office told The Associated Press it was “not aware” of a strike at that location.
In Aramoun, a town about 10 kilometers (six miles) south of Beirut, another three people were killed and a child was wounded in another early Israeli attack.
Casualties continue to climb as conflict continues
At least 634 people have been killed in Lebanon since the latest fighting began, the Lebanese Health Ministry said Wednesday.
The UN refugee agency said at least 759,000 people have been internally displaced in Lebanon.
Iranian authorities say more than 1,300 people have been killed there, and Israel has reported 12 people dead. The US has lost seven soldiers while another eight have suffered severe injuries.
Iran hit a container ship off the coast of Dubai, caused a blaze near Bahrain’s international airport, targeted a major Saudi oil field with a drone attack and forced Iraq to halt operations at all the country’s oil terminals after an attack on its port of Basra on the Arabian Gulf.
Iran flouted a United Nations Security Council resolution from the previous day demanding that it halt strikes on its Gulf neighbors with new attacks also reported in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
Sirens wailed before dawn in Jerusalem after Israel said it was working to intercept missiles launched from Iran. The country also announced it had begun a “wide-scale wave of strikes” on Tehran. In Lebanon, where Israel says it is targeting Iran-linked Hezbollah militants, 11 people were killed in two early morning strikes.
Since the United States and Israel sparked with war with a Feb. 28 attack on Iran, Tehran has embarked on a campaign generated at inflicting enough global economic pain to pressure them to relent in their attacks.
In addition to attacking energy infrastructure around the region, Iran has a stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway leading from the Arabian Gulf toward the Indian Ocean through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported.
With traffic in the Strait effectively stopped, the price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose another 9 percent on Thursday to more than $100 a barrel, up some 38 percent over what it cost when the war started.
Iran fires at multiple Gulf Arab countries and hits ship in Arabian Gulf
The UN Security Council voted Wednesday to approve a resolution demanding a halt to Iran’s “egregious attacks” on its Gulf neighbors, but Tehran showed no signs of changing its strategy.
As the day began Thursday, a container ship in the Arabian Gulf was hit with a projectile off the coast of Dubai, sparking a small fire, according to British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center. It said the crew of the vessel were safe.
In Bahrain, an early Iranian attack sparked a major fire on Muharraq Island, home to the country’s international airport. Authorities urged people to stay indoors and close windows to avoid smoke. The airport has jet fuel tanks, and other tanks in the area serve the kingdom’s oil industry.
Kuwait’s Defense Ministry said an Iranian drone smashed into a residential building, wounding two people, the UAE said it had activated air defenses twice to protect Dubai from attacks, and firefighters extinguished a blaze at a tower in Dubai Creek Harbor after a drone hit.
Saudi Arabia said it had shot down a drone targeting the diplomatic quarter of the capital, Riyadh, and also reported downing drones in kingdom’s east, including at least one trying to target its Shaybah oil field in the Empty Quarter desert.
Following an attack on Iraq’s Basra port that killed at least one person, officials said Thursday that it had been forced to halt operations at all the country’s oil terminals.
Farhan Al-Fartousi, the director-general of the General Company for Ports of Iraq, said the attack targeted a vessel in a ship-to-ship transfer area of the Arabian Gulf port.
Explosions rock Jerusalem while Lebanon and Tehran are hit by Israeli strikes
Sirens wailed and loud explosions were heard shortly after midnight in Jerusalem and other parts of Israel. The Israeli military said it was responding with another “wide-scale wave of strikes” in Tehran.
Overnight missile launches from Iran and Hezbollah also sent Israelis to shelters in multiple other areas, including Tel Aviv and the northern border with Lebanon.
An Israeli strike hit a car Thursday in Ramlet Al-Bayda, a major seaside tourist area of Beirut where dozens of displaced people have been sheltering. Eight people were killed and 31 others were wounded, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. The Israeli military press office told The Associated Press it was “not aware” of a strike at that location.
In Aramoun, a town about 10 kilometers (six miles) south of Beirut, another three people were killed and a child was wounded in another early Israeli attack.
Casualties continue to climb as conflict continues
At least 634 people have been killed in Lebanon since the latest fighting began, the Lebanese Health Ministry said Wednesday.
The UN refugee agency said at least 759,000 people have been internally displaced in Lebanon.
Iranian authorities say more than 1,300 people have been killed there, and Israel has reported 12 people dead. The US has lost seven soldiers while another eight have suffered severe injuries.
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