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Iran angles for prisoner swap deal with US

Iran has sent yet another signal of readiness for a prisoner swap deal with the United States, one that could see several inmates released on both sides.
Freed Lebanese businessman Nizar Zakka, who had been detained in Iran since 2015, gestures during a news conference at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon June 11, 2019. REUTERS/Aziz Taher - RC161D667D00

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi announced that Tehran has submitted to Washington a list of Iranian nationals held in US prisons, calling for their return home. "If there is a will [on the American side], we are hoping for the release of those individuals," he told reporters at an Oct. 21 press briefing in Tehran.

According to Mousavi, there are currently 20 Iranians serving time in the United States relating to the circumvention of US sanctions against Iran. Those charges, the Iranian spokesman dismissed as "baseless," describing the detentions as "hostage taking." Mousavi also noted that Iran has officially protested to the governments that have accepted US extradition requests.

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