Iran's key condition: Release IRGC 'hero officer' Mohammad Reza Nouri in exchange for Israeli-Russian Elizabeth Tsurkov

Israel, Iran and Iraq are reportedly in the final stages of working out a prisoner exchange deal that entails members of  Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and an Israeli-Russian academic. Iran has sought the release of Mohammad Reza Nouri, an officer with the IRGC, in exchange for Elizabeth Tsurkov, an Israeli-Russian Princeton University researcher.

Nouri was arrested by Iraqi officials in September 2023 for orchestrating the murder of an American teacher Stephen Troell in Baghdad in November 2022. Nouri allied with members of Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, an Iranian-backed military group, to kidnap Troell, who he believed was an intelligence officer.

According to the US, Nouri killed Troell to take revenge for the US's assassination of IRGC Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike at Baghdad airport. He faces eight the US terrorism charges for allegedly having "played a key role" in the murder of Troell, which means that Iraq will need to consult the US before deciding on Nouri's release.

Though Iran has also sought the release of six members of Lebanon’s Hezbollah and a Lebanese marine captain captured by Israeli forces, the key person who they have demanded is Nouri.  

Who is Elizabeth Tsurkov?

Elizabeth Tsurkov is an Israeli-Russian Princeton University researcher who was abducted in Iraq in 2023 while conducting academic fieldwork. She is said to have been kidnapped by Kata’ib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Shi’ite militia. However, Kata’ib Hezbollah has denied involvement. There are also speculations that she was first detained by Iraq’s intelligence service—or by individuals impersonating officers—before being transferred to the militia.  

Her visit to Iraq was reportedly not her first, and she is believed to have entered the country using her Russian passport.

Though the negotiations are underway, the US has still not agreed to the release of Nouri. Some Iraqi and diplomatic sources did not rule out the possibility that Tsurkov may have been transferred to Iran since her abduction.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani is pursuing Tsurkov to ease international pressure following a secret visit to Washington by a senior Iraqi security official. Reports quoting a senior Lebanese political source, one key dimension of the deal has been to secure Israel’s release of the Hezbollah fighters and to extract as much gains as possible in return for the release of Tsurkov.

Middle East