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What's Behind Iran's Release of Americans?

Why is Iran suddenly letting Iranian-American scholars and journalists go, after accusing them of fomenting a velvet revolution in the country?

Experts in the United States know little about Iran's motives for arresting the people in the first place, but they suggest that Iran's supreme leader stepped in to ease tensions with the United States.

Also, Iranians may want to avoid having the issue overshadow President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to the U.N. General Assembly later this month.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Michele Kelemen
Michele Kelemen has been with NPR for two decades, starting as NPR's Moscow bureau chief and now covering the State Department and Washington's diplomatic corps. Her reports can be heard on all NPR News programs, including Morning Edition and All Things Considered.