Iran ‘ready’ to swap more prisoners with US, says official

Iran is ready to swap “more prisoners” with the US, government spokesperson Ali Rabiei announced yesterday.

“Tehran hopes the process of returning the Iranian inmates in the US will continue,” Rabiei told reporters, adding that the “responsibility falls upon the US administration.”

His comments echoed those of Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Abbas Mousavi, who said: “If the possibility of exchanging prisoners exists, we have the readiness to free the rest of the individuals who are imprisoned and return them to the country.”

The US yesterday released Iranian-American Doctor Majid Taheri, who was accused of violating US sanctions and financial reporting requirements, as part of a prisoner swap.

This comes days after US authorities released the scientist Sirous Asgari, 59, who was imprisoned in America in 2016, on charges of “stealing trade secrets”.

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Commenting on the nuclear deal that American unilaterally abandoned in 2018, Rabiei said that the White House must “return first to the negotiations table”.

In May 2018, Washington withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal which it had signed along with five major world powers. The pact aimed to curb Tehran’s nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic.

“Tehran has not seen any intention by the US to carry out serious negotiations,” the official noted, stressing that Iran does not see any “sincere, serious or fruitful” efforts from Washington.