Iran says it has reached a prisoner exchange deal with the US, which it denies the world

Iran and the United States have reached an agreement to exchange prisoners, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amiraptolahian told state television on Sunday, but Washington called the accusation “false.”

“Regarding the issue of prisoner exchange between Iran and the US, we reached an agreement in the last few days and if everything goes well on the US side, I think we will see a prisoner exchange in a short period of time,” Amiraptullahian said.

“From our side, everything is ready, while the United States works on the final technological integration.”

A White House official denied Amiraptolahian’s statement about the prisoner exchange, but said the United States was committed to freeing Americans held in Iran.

“Iranian officials are false to say that we have reached an agreement to release US citizens wrongfully detained by Iran.”A White House National Security Council spokesman said.

A source on the talks said the prisoner exchange was “closer than ever,” but one of the points still to be closed was related to $7 billion worth of Iranian oil frozen under U.S. sanctions on South Korea.

The source added that Qatar and Switzerland are engaged in prisoner exchange talks. Iranian sources told Reuters that the two countries in the region are engaged in indirect talks between Tehran and Washington.

One of the many Americans detained in Iran is Shiamak Namasi, a businessman with dual American and Iranian citizenship who was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2016 for spying and collaborating with the U.S. government.

Iranian-American businessman Emat Sharqi, who was first arrested in 2018 while working for a technology investment firm, has been jailed in Iran, as has Iranian-American environmentalist Morad Tahbas, a British citizen.

Over the years, Tehran has sought the release of more than a dozen Iranians in the United States, including seven dual citizens of the two countries, two Iranians with permanent U.S. citizenship and four Iranian citizens without legal status in the United States.

Videos: Latest from g1