Iran asserts prisoner swap talks with US ongoing
Any movement between Washington and Tehran is sensitive as Biden administration looks to restart nuclear talks
Iran confirmed Tuesday that it was involved in ongoing talks with the United States about a proposed prisoner exchange, which followed a senior American official saying that Washington is working to release its detained citizens.
The official IRNA news agency quoted Cabinet spokesman Ali Rabiei as saying the swap negotiations are based on humanitarian interests, reported the Associated Press (AP).
“These talks are ongoing and if any acceptable result is achieved, it will be announced,” he said, without elaborating.
The US envoy for Iran, Robert Malley, said on Saturday that US President Joe Biden insisted on the release of all Americans and will not accept a "partial deal."
Malley called the release of Americans detained in the Islamic Republic a "priority" and said that negotiations with Iran have "made some progress," NBC News reported.
The US administration denied Iranian declarations in May that a prisoner swap deal had already been struck.
Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said Monday that Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had "put forth a plan to swap all Iranian and American prisoners," state news agency IRNA reported.
Xiyue Wang, a former US prisoner held in an Iranian jail and released in December 2019, said that "prisoners are held as pawns. They only have value if they can be used as pawns." Indeed, the incidence of the detention of dual nationals in Iran has grown exponentially in recent years.
He made the comment in reference to the Iranians likely attempting to gain further leverage in the stalled nuclear talks taking place in Vienna, with the European powers - and only indirectly with the United States.