For a prisoner swap with the United States, Iran claims that "everything is ready." Tehran's claim is rejected by Washington as a "cruel lie."
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told Iran's ISNA state news agency on Sunday that if "everything goes well," a prisoner exchange between Tehran and Washington could take place within the next few days. At least 16 Western passport holders are known to be detained in Iran, which has been accused of holding them hostage.
"With regard to the exchange of prisoners between Iran and the United States, we have recently reached an agreement. The diplomat stated, "In our opinion, everything is prepared."
The exchange agreement, according to Amirabdollahian, had been "signed and approved indirectly" last year.
However, US State Department Spokesman Ned Price vehemently denied the claim in Washington, describing it as "another especially cruel lie that only adds to the suffering of the families" of Iranian detainees.
Cost said the US is "working constantly to get the arrival of the three illegitimately confined Americans in Iran," adding, "We won't stop until they are brought together with their friends and family."
What has Washington done regarding Tehran's assertions?
Tehran's claims were called "false" in a statement released by the White House Security Council.
The following three US citizens are also mentioned in the statement: The families of Siamak Namazi, Emad Shargi, and Morad Tahbaz will continue to suffer as a result of the latest cruel claim, which unfortunately, Iranian officials will not hesitate to fabricate."
Video related to: Iran's claims come two days after Siamak Namazi, an Iranian-American businessman who has been in Tehran's notorious Evin Prison since 2015, was allowed to give an interview to US cable news outlet CNN. A report today on Iranian state TV attributes the Foreign Current Time 0:00 / Duration 1:37 MSNBC State Department calls Iranian minister claim of a prisoner swap a 'cruel lie.'
Namazi was found guilty of collaborating with a foreign government, sentenced to prison, and denied the right to leave the country. The United States calls the accusation, which he denies, "groundless."
Mohammad Baquer Namazi, the former UNICEF official who raised Namazi, was also detained by Iran when he went there to help his son. Both men were found guilty of espionage and given 10-year sentences each in October 2016. The senior Namazi, notwithstanding, was permitted to leave Iran in October 2022 for clinical reasons.
Does Iran regularly detain holders of Western passports?
Iran routinely detains people with dual citizenship, frequently charging them with espionage without providing evidence, and then imprisons or executes those people after closed-door trials that international rights groups claim are unfair, claiming that Iran is imprisoning foreign nationals.
These individuals are later used as bargaining chips in international negotiations if they are imprisoned.
It is currently known that at least 16 Western passport holders—most of whom hold dual nationalities—are detained in Iran.
On Sunday, the High Court of Iran maintained a capital punishment against Swedish-Iranian nonconformist Habib Farajollah Chaab, who is blamed for being connected to a Bedouin rebel bunch that went after a tactical motorcade in 2018, killing 25 individuals.
Has Iran ever made claims like these before?
The claims made on Sunday were not the first of their kind. Amirabdollahian has himself made numerous promises of "agreements" that never materialized.
At a time when the nation is reeling from protests and economic hardship, such remarks appeared aimed at a domestic audience.
After the United States withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal, in 2018, an actual prisoner swap might indicate that the stalled negotiations between the adversaries regarding Iran's international status are making progress.
For example, it was reported that deputy foreign minister Ali Bagheri Kani went to Oman on Sunday and led JCPOA talks with the US, UK, China, Russia, France, Germany, and EU. The desert sultanate has long served as a mediator between Iran and the United States.
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