Iran says prisoner exchange talks underway with US

Iran on Tuesday announced that it has begun holding talks about a prisoner exchange with the U.S. in order to negotiate the release of Iranians who have been imprisoned around the world due to sanctions violations.

“Negotiations are underway on the exchange of prisoners between Iran and America, and we will issue more information if Iranian prisoners are released and the country’s interests are secured and the talks reach a conclusion,” Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei said, according to Reuters.

“‌Because of its humanitarian aims, Iran is ready to exchange all American political prisoners in exchange for the release of all Iranian prisoners who have been detained around the world at the behest of America,” Rebiei added during a news conference.

According to the wire service, the United States did not immediately comment on Rebiei’s announcement.

For three weeks, Iran’s talks with world powers about resuming a nuclear deal that was started in 2015 have been stalled. Under the deal, restrictions were imposed upon Iran’s nuclear activities while other nations lifted sanctions on the country.

The U.S. left the deal in 2018.

On Monday, Ned Price, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, said that the United States will not impose a deadline on the seventh round of talks. He also said that only Tehran would determine a time for talks to resume, according to Reuters.

The Islamic Republic has reportedly been accused of arresting activists who hold dual citizenship in an attempt to gain compromises with other countries. Iran has dismissed that charge, Reuters reported.

The United States in May denied a report from an Iranian news outlet that said a prisoner swap deal had been reached in exchange for $7 billion.

“Reports that a prisoner swap deal has been reached are not true,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said at the time. “As we have said, we always raise the cases of Americans detained or missing in Iran. We will not stop until we are able to reunite them with their families.”