The US has strongly denied an alleged detainee change settlement with Iran. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian mentioned on state tv that his nation had negotiated a prisoner change settlement with the United States.
“Claims by Iranian officials that we have reached an agreement to release US citizens unlawfully detained by Iran are false,” President Joe Biden’s National Security Council mentioned in a press release.
Ned Price, spokesman for the State Department in Washington, mentioned: “Claims by Iranian officials that a prisoner exchange agreement has been reached are another particularly gruesome lie.”
False claims on state tv
Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian claimed throughout his tv look {that a} doc between Iran and the United States for a prisoner change had been “indirectly signed and approved” since March 2022. If “everything should go well”, the change would happen within the subsequent few days.
Amirabdollahian has beforehand supplied data on potential agreements with the United States. Among different issues, it was about frozen property – however the offers by no means materialized. “Unfortunately, Iranian officials do not shy away from making things up,” the National Security Council famous.
Observers consider it’s potential that the false statements may very well be an try by the regime to win again the assist of the Iranian individuals. There have been repeated protests towards the nation’s theocratic authorities.
American residents proceed to be detained
US residents in Iranian detention embrace businessman Siamak Namazi, who was sentenced to 10 years in jail in 2016 on prices of espionage, businessman Emad Sharghi, who has been in jail since 2018, and environmental activist Morad Tahbaz. All three even have Iranian citizenship and Tahbaz additionally has British citizenship. State Department spokesman Price mentioned: “We are working tirelessly to secure the release of the three Americans wrongfully imprisoned in Iran.”
Iran has constantly detained foreigners on prices of espionage or different nationwide safety violations. The Islamic Republic has additionally been accused of holding foreigners hostage. The US and Iran have been enemies for many years.
Source: www.nationalturk.com
