![Iranian soldiers take part in an annual military drill in the coast of the Gulf of Oman on December 30, 2022 [Iranian Army/Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/AA-20221230-29870784-29870780-IRAN_HOLDS_ANNUAL_MILITARY_DRILL_NEAR_STRATEGIC_STRAIT_OF_HORMUZ.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
Three more Europeans are being released by Iran, in return for Iranian diplomat, Asadollah Assadi, as part of a prisoner swap in which Iran released Belgian aid worker, Oliver Vandecasteele, last week, a spokesperson for the Belgian government said, Reuters reports.
A Danish national and two people with dual Austrian-Iranian nationality are involved, the spokesperson said.
Assadi was convicted in Belgium in 2021 in connection to a foiled bomb plot in France and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
In a statement, the Belgian government said that the Danish person was arrested in Iran in November 2022 in connection with women’s rights demonstrations.
The two dual nationals were “wrongfully arrested in … January 2016 and January 2019”, the government said.
Belgian’s Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo, thanked Oman for mediating the swap.
After a stop in Oman and medical tests, the three will be flown to Belgium’s military airport in Melsbroek.
READ: Belgium: Iran diplomat receives 20-year prison term for terrorism