logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2023
31m 38s

US and Iran swap prisoners

Bbc World Service
About this episode
Five Americans have been freed in a deal that sees five Iranians released from US jails and $6 billion in frozen assets made available to Tehran. Also, a new lawsuit claims the Australian government failed to protect the Great Barrier Reef from climate change. And the grandfather of Russian rock music leads a star-studded charity album for Ukraine. 
Up next
Yesterday
The Global Story: Trump’s ‘CEO of everything’
The billionaire Larry Ellison could soon control huge portions of America’s AI, attention economy and legacy media. He already owns swathes of AI infrastructure and is preparing to takeover TikTok, whilst his son, whose company already owns Paramount, is preparing a deal to buy W ... Show More
26m 59s
Yesterday
Heavy clashes along Pakistan-Afghanistan border
Fierce fighting is taking place between the Pakistani army and Afghan Taliban forces at multiple points along the Durand Line. It's the latest flare-up between the neighbours as insecurity rises in the border region. Also: Hamas says it will start releasing Israeli hostages on Mo ... Show More
27m 1s
Oct 11
The Happy Pod: Love, cake, and a long-lost mother
We hear how a man's search for his birth mother ended in an unexpected but familiar place - his favourite local bakery. Vamarr Hunter was shocked to discover that the bakery's owner, whose company and motherly advice he'd enjoyed for years, was the woman who'd given him up for ad ... Show More
27m 53s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2023
Iran prisoner swap: US citizens freed in $6bn deal
Five Americans jailed for years in Iran are flying back to the United States, after being freed in a controversial prisoner swap. The former captives stopped briefly in Qatar before getting on a plane home. The US is releasing five Iranian prisoners in return, and has allowed the ... Show More
48m 19s
Aug 2023
US and Iran Prisoner Swap
Washington and Tehran have reached a deal to swap prisoners and unblock Iran’s frozen assets in South Korea. Iran will release a number of American prisoners in exchange for the U.S. releasing a number of Iranian prisoners and unblocking $6 billion of Iranian funds to be used for ... Show More
28m 9s
Sep 2023
Five American nationals are due to be freed by Iran
Access to six billion dollars of frozen Iranian oil revenues is part of the deal. Leading US Republicans and Iranian activists have warned the deal will only encourage more hostage taking. They will first land in Qatar before flying to the US. Also on the programme, in South Afri ... Show More
48m 19s
Sep 2023
U.S.-Iran Exchange Prisoners – A Year Since the Death of Masha Amini Sparked Protests
On Monday, five Americans who were imprisoned in Iran, stepped off a plane in Doha, Qatar. They were freed as part of a prisoner exchange deal between the U.S. and Iran. Despite the happy news, the Biden administration is facing a lot of criticism for this deal, which also gave I ... Show More
12m 27s
Sep 2023
Guests of the Ayatollah
“Hostage diplomacy” is a term you’ll frequently see in the media, but it's a misleading term. What we’re really talking about: Dictators kidnapping and torturing innocent foreign civilians. In some cases, the leaders of free countries pay ransom to get them back. In some cases, t ... Show More
1h 23m
Feb 2022
The deal with Iran
A restored nuclear deal with Iran was “closer than ever,” according to negotiators, when war broke out in Ukraine. Now, stung from the US reneging on the last deal, many Iranians are holding back their hopes of freedom from stifling sanctions. What are the main sticking points? A ... Show More
21m 30s
Jun 2024
‘Why Iran Hates America’
Following the death of Iran’s President Raisi in a helicopter crash, and amidst ongoing tensions in the Middle East, Fareed Zakaria examines Iran's decades-old animosity towards America, tracing it back to the 1979 embassy hostage crisis and U.S. support for Saddam Hussein's inva ... Show More
48m 32s
Oct 2020
Trump's new Iran sanctions hurt civilians and threaten war
Weeks before the U.S. election, the Trump administration has imposed crushing new sanctions that sever Iran from the global financial system and further threaten the import of humanitarian goods. The Israeli government and the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a pro-regime c ... Show More
29m 17s
Oct 2022
Huge blaze and gunfire reported at Iran prison
There are reports of a huge blaze and gunfire at Evin prison in Tehran - where hundreds of Iranian political prisoners and dozens of dual nationals are held. We'll get the latest and discuss the significance of this during a tense period in Iran. Also in the programme: Turkey's p ... Show More
48m 33s