ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iranian state-affiliated media reported on Thursday that the release of Russian-Israeli researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov from captivity in Iraq was carried out in exchange for two “Axis of Resistance” prisoners.

Tasnim News Agency, citing a Baghdad correspondent of the outlet, said that Tsurkov, whom they term an "Israeli spy," "was exchanged for two resistance prisoners... despite the fact that the Americans initially claimed that they had released her themselves," adding that one of the prisoners is a Lebanese national who was “kidnapped by Israeli commandos in northern Lebanon last year.”

In July 2023, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iraq’s Iran-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah of kidnapping Tsurkov, a PhD candidate at Princeton University who had supposedly entered Iraq for research purposes using her Russian passport months prior. The group denied involvement.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani announced on Tuesday that Tsurkov had been released. "As a culmination of extensive efforts exerted by our security services over the course of many months, we announce the release of the Russian citizen, Elizabeth Tsurkov," Sudani wrote on X.

US President Donald Trump also announced on Truth Social that Tsurkov "was just released by Kata'ib Hezbollah...and is now in the American Embassy in Iraq," alleging that the Princeton student had been "tortured for many months."

Spokesperson for the Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces, Sabah al-Numan, on Tuesday said that the kidnapping of Elizabeth Tsurkov by "a group of outlaws" in 2023 led to "distinguished security and intelligence efforts" by Iraqi security forces to secure her release.

"The competent authorities were able, on September 9, to uncover and access her place of detention and subsequently hand her over to the US Embassy [in Iraq], ​​which will in turn transfer her to her sister, who holds American citizenship," Numan said. "We affirm that our armed forces and all our security agencies and formations will... hold accountable those who attempt to harm the security and stability achieved through great sacrifices and sincere national efforts."

In February Emma Tsurkov, Elizabeth’s sister, blamed Sudani’s “incompetence and inaction” and the administration of former US President Joe Biden for failing to bring her sister home after around two years in captivity.

Tsurkov met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netnyahu on Thursday, detailing "the harsh conditions in which she had been held," according to a statement from the premier's office.

The Kataib Hezbollah, a group under Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), has been designated a terrorist organization by the US. The group was implicated in an attack on an agriculture ministry headquarters that killed at least two people, a civilian and a police officer.

The PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi, was formed upon a call by Iraq’s top Shiite authority Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani soon after the Islamic State (ISIS) took over large swathes of territory in Iraq. The force has been officially incorporated into the Iraqi armed forces, enjoying similar privileges as the Iraqi army.

The PMF have long faced criticism for their links to Iran and allegations that the Iraqi government’s control over the group is tenuous.