Iran Advises US to Avoid Politicizing Prisoner Swap
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry reminded the US that the exchange of prisoners is a totally humanitarian issue which should not be subject to political games.
Nasser Kanaani made the comments on Sunday in reaction to the statements by an American official who denied the deal.
"From the viewpoint of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the issue of exchanging prisoners is a completely humanitarian issue, which must not be subject to political games," Kanaani said.
The spokesman added, "Since last March, a written agreement has been signed (between the two sides) through an intermediary with regard to exchanging prisoners."
"An official representative introduced by the American side has also signed the agreement, but the deal has not been implemented so far by the US administration under various excuses," he said, Press TV reported.
Kanaani concluded by saying, "Indirect messages have been exchanged (between Iran and the US) during recent weeks to update that (agreement)."
The deal was announced earlier in the day by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, who confirmed that Tehran and Washington have reached an initial agreement to swap prisoners.
“We have reached a deal (with the US) on the issue of exchange of prisoners. If everything goes well, we will see the swap of inmates,” the top Iranian diplomat said on Sunday.
He noted that Iran and the US signed a document in March 2022 in an indirect manner, as Washington is working on the last technical issues.
Iran and the US have conducted prisoner exchanges twice in the past, once in January 2016 when the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was implemented, and again in December 2019.