Iran to exchange inmates, calls US to free jailed Iranians
Iran is ready to exchange prisoners with the United States, its Foreign Ministry spokesman said Wednesday, asking President Joe Biden’s administration to “act instead of performing in plays”.
Tehran called for the release of more than a dozen Iranians in the United States, including seven Iranian citizens with dual Iranian-American citizenship, two Iranians with permanent residence in the United States, and four Iranian citizens with no legal status in the United States.
“We are ready to exchange prisoners with Washington … The United States must release the jailed Iranian citizens without any conditions,” the semi-official Fars news agency said, citing Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani.
On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken tweeted that Siamak Namazi had now spent 2,500 days “unfairly detained” in Iran and Washington was determined to guarantee the freedom of all Americans held by her opponent in the Middle East.
Kanaani spoke as Tehran and Washington tried to revive a 2015 nuclear deal after lengthy negotiations. The European Union and the United States said Tuesday that they were studying Iran’s response to what the EU called its “final” proposal to save the deal, after Tehran asked Washington to show flexibility.
