Prisoner Swap ‘Positive’ But Unlikely to Lead to US Talks

The recent prisoner swap between Iran and the United States could be seen as a "positive" signal, but is unlikely to lead to direct bilateral talks as Tehran-Washington political ties are "complicated" in nature, a political analyst says.
"It cannot be denied that the prisoner exchange between Iran and the United States can be interpreted as a positive political and diplomatic signal, especially because it was unprecedented under the presidency of Donald Trump. However, it should also be noted that the prisoner swap took place on humanitarian and legal grounds, not as a result of a complicated political and diplomatic process," Amir Ali Abolfath told the Iranian Diplomacy website in a recent interview. 
On Dec. 7, the US and Iran each freed a prisoner in a rare act of cooperation between two longtime foes whose relations have worsened since Trump took office, unilaterally withdrew his country from the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and six world powers, including the US, and reimposed sweeping sanctions on the OPEC producer.