Iran says prisoner swap deal struck with US, Washington denies
US Iran
Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told the country's state television on Sunday (March 12) that Iran and the United States have reached an agreement for a prisoner swap. He expressed hope that the prisoner exchange would take place soon.
"Regarding the issue of prisoner swaps between Iran and the US, we have reached an agreement in the recent days and if everything goes well on the US side, I think we will witness a prisoner exchange in a short period," Amirabdollahian said.
"On our part everything is ready, while the US is currently working on the final technical coordination."
A White House official denied Amirabdollahian's statement about the prisoner swap with Washington, adding that the United States was committed to securing the release of Americans held in Iran.
"Claims by Iranian officials that we have reached a deal for the release of the U.S. citizens wrongfully held by Iran are false," a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council said.
One of several Americans held in Iran is Siamak Namazi, a businessman with dual US-Iranian citizenship, who was sentenced in 2016 to 10 years in prison for spying and cooperating with the USgovernment.
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Emad Sharghi, an Iranian-American businessman was first arrested in 2018 when he was working for a tech investment company, is also jailed in Iran, as is Iranian-American environmentalist Morad Tahbaz, who also holds British citizenship.
Iranian sources told Reuters that two regional countries were involved in the series of indirect talks between Tehran and Washington for the release of prisoners.
For years, Tehran has sought the release of more than a dozen Iranians in the United States, including seven Iranian-American dual nationals, two Iranians with permanent U.S. residency and four Iranian citizens with no legal status in the United States.
(With inputs from agencies)
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