Iran-Saudi Rapprochement Not A Done Deal | 11 comments (11 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

At BRICS Conference Statement Prisoner Swap (none / 1)

Iran has no pre-conditions for prisoner exchange: FM Amir-Abdollahian | PressTV.ir - Aug. 8, 2023 |

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian says the Islamic Republic views the issue of prisoner exchange with other countries as a humanitarian move, stressing that Tehran has no pre-conditions in this regard.

Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks on the sidelines of a conference entitled "Iran and BRICS: Prospects for Partnership and Cooperation" in the capital, Tehran, on Tuesday.
He went on to say that messages have been exchanged between Iran and the United States through Oman and Qatar in this regard for some months.
"The issue of prisoner exchange is a humanitarian one and we do not consider any preconditions for it. We have announced to the intermediary parties that we will exchange prisoners within agreed frameworks," the top Iranian diplomat said.
An agreement on the exchange of prisoners was reached between Tehran and Washington in Vienna on the sidelines of negotiations concerning the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Iran Proposes Plans to Develop BRICS' Potential | Aug. 9, 2023 |

Amnesia and Gaza Genocide

by Oui on Thu Aug 10th, 2023 at 07:06:42 PM EST
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Re: At BRICS Conference Statement Prisoner Swap (none / 0)

Iran releases 5 jailed US citizens to house arrest as part of reported prisoner swap | TOI |

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Iran has put five Iranian-American prisoners to house arrest, a US-based lawyer said Thursday, a move coming as Tehran for months has suggested a prisoner swap was possible between it and Washington in exchange for billions of dollars frozen in South Korea. Iran did not immediately acknowledge the move.
The move comes amid months of heightened tensions between Iran and the US. A major American military buildup in the Persian Gulf is underway, with the possibility of armed US troops boarding and guarding commercial ships traveling through the crucial Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of all oil traded passes.
According to a New York Times report, the Iranian-Americans' transfer is the first step in a prisoner swap deal reached between the two countries. Iran in past months has overstated progress in talks, likely conducted with mediation by Oman and Qatar, on a potential trade.

Citing people familiar with the deal, the report said the money would be transferred to the Qatari central bank, with Qatar controlling the account to ensure Iran can only use the funds for humanitarian purposes such as food and medicine.
Ali Vaez, the International Crisis Group's Iran director, told the newspaper that once the money reaches Qatar in four to six weeks, the Americans will be taken on a Qatari government plane to Doha. No details were given on the Iranian prisoners slated to be released.
US-based lawyer Jared Genser acknowledged Thursday's move by Iran, identifying three of the prisoners as Siamak Namazi, Emad Shargi and Morad Tahbaz. Genser did not identify the fourth and fifth prisoners.
[...]
Negotiations over a major prisoner swap faltered after then-US president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the nuclear deal in 2018. From the following year on, a series of attacks and ship seizures attributed to Iran have raised tensions. While US President Joe Biden entered office with hopes of restarting the deal, diplomatic negotiations on the accord have been stalled for a year.