Nobody agrees. While Iran signaled on Sunday that it was “ready” to conduct a prisoner swap with the US, American diplomacy swept that statement outright.
“In the past few days, we have agreed on a prisoner swap between Iran and the United States. If everything goes well on the American side, I think we can participate in the near future,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said in a TV interview.
“Everything is ready for us. The US side is working on the final technical preparations,” he added. US diplomatic spokesman Ned Price, however, condemned the statements as “another particularly cruel lie that only adds to the suffering of the families of the detainees”.
At least three Iranian-Americans arrested
“We are working tirelessly to secure the release of the three Americans wrongfully imprisoned in Iran. We won’t stop until they find their loved ones,” Price added. At least three Iranian-Americans are being held in Iran, including businessman Siamak Namazi.
Iran’s judiciary reported in August the detention of “dozens” of Iranian nationals in the United States, including Reza Sarhangpour and Kambiz Attar Kashani, accused of “diverting American sanctions” imposed on Tehran. In a CNN interview that aired March 9, Siamak Namazi urged President Joe Biden to “put the freedom of innocent Americans ahead of politics” by promoting their release.