It stays unclear whether or not an settlement may be finalised as Tehran maintains Washington is performing in dangerous religion.
Tehran, Iran – Iran has blamed the US for failing to succeed in an settlement over a prisoner swap deal amid reviews that progress had been made after a lull of a number of months.
Iran’s international ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani on Monday instructed journalists {that a} deal was on the verge of being clinched by intermediaries at an unannounced time, “however then the US confirmed dangerous religion”.
Iran and the US have been relaying messages since 2021 over prisoners being held on fees of espionage and circumventing sanctions.
Each side have been on observe to succeed in an settlement as a part of talks to revive Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal. Nevertheless, since these discussions have been deadlocked for months, there have been reviews that the prisoner trade might happen individually.
Final week, US broadcaster NBC News reported that Washington and Tehran have been in oblique negotiations to safe a doable prisoner trade, with Qatar and the UK performing as intermediaries.
The discussions “have made progress”, the report stated, however it remained unclear whether or not an settlement may very well be reached quickly.
Such a deal would see Tehran free US detainees in its custody and Washington would enable the discharge of billions of {dollars} of Iranian funds frozen by South Korea beneath US sanctions, with the cash restricted to purchasing meals, drugs and different humanitarian items.
Kanani stated the US views the prisoner trade “as a software in adjusting the behaviour of the Islamic Republic of Iran” in feedback to state-linked Mehr information final week.
On Tuesday, he instructed the state-run IRNA company that Oman has made “particular efforts” in direction of facilitating an trade, one thing Tehran welcomes. He has additionally welcomed Qatar’s mediation position as “constructive”.
Washington appeared to reject the Iranian accusation of “dangerous religion” conduct with out sharing particulars concerning the talks.
“I cannot go into the small print of any diplomatic efforts beneath manner as you’ll be able to think about such discussions are delicate and extremely consequential for the US nationals who’ve been wrongfully detained,” a US State Division spokesperson instructed Al Jazeera on Tuesday.
“Iran unjustly detains residents of the US and different nations world wide as an inexcusable tactic to achieve political leverage, so for them to assert that the US has by some means proven ‘dangerous religion’ in pursuing the discharge of our residents is past the pale.”
The spokesperson added that the US administration is “working tirelessly” to convey dwelling Americans detained in Iran, together with Siamak Namazi, Emad Shargi, and Morad Tahbaz.
Final month, Namazi, whose father Baquer was launched for medical causes final October and left Iran on a Royal Air Drive of Oman jet, wrote a letter to US President Joe Biden from jail and went on a seven-day starvation strike to name for his launch.
Iran’s Overseas Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian stated an settlement outlined in March has been up to date in the previous few weeks in an interview to US Nationwide Public Radio earlier this month.
“We’re able to trade our prisoners, however there are technical steps that must be taken by the Individuals. We’re awaiting the technical steps to be taken,” he stated.