صراط عشق صراط عشق
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kana’ani expressed Tehran’s readiness to implement a prisoner swap deal with the US, urging Washington to free Iranians imprisoned in the US without linking the matter to irrelevant issues.
Kana’ani on Monday reaffirmed Tehran’s commitment and determination to implement the deal concerning the issue of prisoners, calling on Washington to fulfill its commitments.
“We have repeatedly stated that the Islamic republic is ready to exchange prisoners with the US in an unconditional manner and without tying it to other issues,” the spokesperson told reporters at a press conference in Tehran.
The diplomat reminded the US that Iran has showed its goodwill by releasing a dual-national Iranian American who was suffering from an illness.
In early October, Tehran freed 85-year-old Iranian-American Baqer Namazi, and lifted the travel ban on him due to “humanitarian reasons”. Namazi was been sentenced to 10 years of jail for spying and cooperating with the US government against Tehran. He has been “out of jail and at his home in Tehran for nearly 4 years due to medical issues”.
“Unfortunately, we did not see any countermeasures and encouragement step from the American government,” the spokesperson continued, expressing hope that Washington would take a serious and clear step to implement the agreement.
Some Iranians are in US jails just because of ignoring Washington’s illegal sanctions on Tehran.
Tehran has numerously urged Washington to free Iranian nationals who have been taken hostage for baseless reasons under the pretext that they have bypassed and violated the US sanctions. Iran has also blasted the US for linking a humanitarian exchange of prisoners with the talks over the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal. Iranian officials have called on President Joe Biden’s administration to act instead of performing theatrical shows.
On nuclear negotiations, Kana’ani said Iran’s official policy regarding the talks on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal is “commitment to the negotiation course and table”, and the necessity for the removal of all cruel sanctions against Tehran.
Highlighting Iran’s goodwill in the course of negotiations and its commitment to the continuation of the talks, the spokesperson expressed hope that the other parties would prove their goodwill in practice as well.
“We have no direct contact with the US government,” Kana’ani underlined, noting that Iran employs all of its diplomatic capacities to fulfill its interests, particularly for the purpose of lifting the sanctions.
He also underscored that Tehran welcomes the efforts of the governments that have played a role in the sanctions removal talks with goodwill.
Tehran and the five remaining parties to the nuclear deal have held several rounds of negotiations since April 2021 to restore the agreement, which was unilaterally abandoned by former President Donald Trump in May 2018.
The talks remain stalled since August 2022, as Washington continues to insist on its hard-nosed position of not removing all sanctions that were slapped on Tehran by the previous US administration.
Iran stresses it has not quit the negotiating table with the world powers, but will not put all its eggs in the negotiation basket and will not wait for the United States to return to its commitments under the 2015 agreement. Iranian officials stress Tehran has maintained its constructive attitude towards a good, strong and lasting agreement on the revival of the accord and arriving at a deal requires the US pragmatic attitude.
Tehran says it will not be able to trust Washington as long as President Joe Biden continues the wrong policy of maximum pressure and sanctions practiced by Trump against Iran. Iranian officials say the Biden administration has yet done nothing but hollow promises to lift sanctions against Tehran. They blast the US addiction to sanctions, and slammed the POTUS for continuing his predecessor’s policy on Iran.
In quitting the agreement, Trump restored sanctions on Iran as part of what he called the “maximum pressure” campaign against the country. Those sanctions are being enforced to this day by the Biden administration, even though it has repeatedly acknowledged that the policy has been a mistake and a failure.
Iranian officials say the ball is in the US’ court, and the Biden administration should assure Tehran that it will not repeat Trump’s past mistakes.
Diplomats have also criticized Washington for raising excessive demands from Tehran during the nuclear talks, and blocking efforts to reach an agreement on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). They emphasized that the US should lift unilateral sanctions, and assure Iran that it will not repeat its past mistakes.
Officials say although some progress has been made, there are still outstanding issues that need to be resolved before a final deal could be attained. They warn that Tehran has its own “Plan B” and it will go into effect if Washington fails to make a political decision to revive the 2015 agreement.
