Iran ready for more prisoner exchanges with United States

Iran is ready for further prisoner exchanges with the United States, according to the official IRNA news agency.
"If the necessary framework conditions are in place, we would be willing to do so for humanitarian reasons," Iranian Foreign Office spokesperson Abbas Mousavi said on Thursday.
"If the possibility of exchanging prisoners exists, we have the readiness to free the rest of the individuals who are imprisoned in America and return them to the country," Mousavi added.

This plan can be carried out in cooperation with the Swiss embassy in Tehran, the spokesperson said, according to the news agency Isna.

Switzerland represents the United States' diplomatic interests in Iran because Tehran and Washington have had no diplomatic relations for more than 40 years.

Michael White, a U.S. Navy veteran detained in Iran since 2018, was freed last Thursday as part of a deal in which the United States allowed Iranian-American physician Majid Taheri to visit Iran - a rare instance of U.S.-Iranian cooperation.

White's release came two days after the United States deported Sirous Asgari, an Iranian professor imprisoned in the United States despite having being acquitted of stealing trade secrets.

At the moment, US-Iranians are the main inmates at the infamous Evin prison in Tehran.

Among them are businessman Siamak Namazi and his father, Bagher. Namazi was arrested in 2015 - his father a year later - and sentenced to 10 years in prison for allegedly spying for the United States.

Dual citizenship is not recognized in Iran. Therefore, all people with Iranian fathers are considered Iranians and have no right to consular assistance.