US and Iran hold indirect talks on prisoner exchange with aid of UK and Qatar: Report
Misty Severi
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The Biden administration and Iran are allegedly holding indirect talks about a prisoner exchange via discussions through Qatar and the United Kingdom, according to a Wednesday report.
Biden administration officials are hoping to secure the release of American citizens who are imprisoned in Iran in exchange for a prisoner from Iran and the release of billions of dollars in South Korean banks that are currently blocked by U.S. sanctions.
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The deal, if reached, would allow Iran to use the funds for medicine, food, and other human rights resources, sources told NBC News. The funds would likely be released to a third party, such as Qatar, who would then give the funds to Iran, according to the sources.
The State Department said it had a method for relaying important messages to Iran, including messages about possible prisoner exchanges.
“We have ways of communicating with Iran on issues of concern, including on the issue of releasing U.S. citizens wrongfully detained in Iran,” a department spokesperson told the outlet. “Those channels remain open. We remain committed to securing the freedom of all U.S. citizens who continue to be wrongfully detained overseas, including [prisoners] Siamak Namazi, Emad Shargi, and Morad Tahbaz, and we continue to work to bring them home, but we have nothing to announce at this time.”
Namazi has been imprisoned in Iran for seven years — the longest a U.S. citizen has ever been detained in Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told NPR that discussions were underway for a possible exchange, but he was waiting for certain steps to be taken by the United States. He added that a U.K. official represented the U.S. in the discussions.
“The representative in question was in Iran in the past weeks, and we updated the agreement that we had back in March,” Amir-Abdollahian said. “We’re ready to exchange our prisoners, but there are technical steps that need to be taken by the Americans. We are awaiting the technical steps to be taken.”
The Biden administration came under heat from Iranian Americans and from protesters in Iran — who are calling for a democratic, secular, and nonnuclear Iran — for attempting to revitalize the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
The nuclear deal, enacted under former President Barack Obama, was slammed by conservative lawmakers at the time. They said it amounted to sending $400 million to Iran and allowing the Middle Eastern country to have nuclear capabilities on the same day four Americans were released from captivity in the country.
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The Biden administration has tightened restrictions and sanctions on Iran in recent weeks. It has also warned other countries, including China, not to circumvent U.S. sanctions on Iran, stating the U.S. was prepared to take action against those that do.