Iran abandons prisoner swap plan with America

Prisoner swap plans between Iran and the US seem to be failing. An unnamed Iranian official, speaking to Noor news agency on Tuesday, accused Washington of violating efforts to free detainees. At the same time, he said that Iran would no longer pursue its plans to exchange prisoners with the US.

The official told the Noor news agency that the plan would no longer be promoted by Iran because of continued violations by the Biden administration. So Iran has completely removed the issue of a prisoner swap plan from its agenda, which is close to Iran's top national security body. Last month, Iran said a prisoner swap deal had been agreed, though Washington denied it.

Earlier, Iran accused US President Joe Biden's administration and Britain that both countries were adopting the tactic of taking prisoners hostage in order to save the nuclear deal with Iran in 2015. On Iran's statement, the Deputy Secretary of State of the US State Department expressed his displeasure, calling this statement derogatory.

There are more Iranians in US prisons than there are American prisoners in Iran. Prisoner swaps during nuclear talks between the two countries are not new. Earlier in 2016, the Obama administration had released four American citizens under the JCPOA nuclear deal. But in 2018, former President Trump was against this agreement. But then-President Biden seemed to be taking this conversation forward.