Iran All Set For Prisoner Swap Program With US

Web Desk — The Iranian foreign minister said on Saturday that Iran is ready to exchange prisoners with the United States, adding that talks to revive a 2015 nuclear deal could succeed “at the earliest possible time” if the United States makes the necessary political decisions.

After months of indirect talks to revive the nuclear pact, a US-Iranian agreement is taking shape in Vienna. On Thursday, Reuters reported that the draft text of the agreement alluded to other measures, including the unfreezing of billions of dollars of Iranian funds in South Korean banks and the release of Western prisoners held in Iran. 

“We believe a prisoner swap is a humanitarian issue … unrelated to the nuclear agreement… we can do it immediately,” Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said at the Munich Security Conference. 

“I want to stress here that we are ready to reach an agreement as soon as possible if the other side takes the appropriate political steps,” Amir-Abdollahian said on Saturday. 

“If the talks fail in Vienna, the Western powers will be responsible for the failure, since we want a good deal.”US negotiator Robert Malley says that securing the nuclear pact is unlikely unless Iran releases four hostages Washington says it is holding. 

In recent years, Iran has arrested dozens of dual nationals, including several Americans, primarily for espionage. Human rights groups, however, accuse Iran of taking prisoners as diplomatic leverage – a charge it denies.