There is “zero possibility” of a prisoner swap with the US after its unilateral withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, says a lawmaker.
“Defendants and those found guilty can only be exchanged under extradition agreements between countries, and since no extradition agreement has been signed between Iran and the United States and the agreements prior to the [1979 Islamic] Revolution are no longer valid, there is no possibility that US prisoners can be swapped for Iranian inmates,” Ezzatollah Yousefian told ICANA in remarks published on Friday.
He made the comments when asked about the status of American citizens held in Iran and Iranians serving time in the US after President Donald Trump pulled out of the 2015 nuclear accord last month.
The MP added that prisoners can be exchanged within the framework of international law in certain cases but Trump’s decision “closed that window of opportunity.”
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently warned that his country would impose “the strongest sanctions in history” against Iran if it did not agree to change course and outlined a series of demands, including the release all US citizens and those of US partners and allies “detained on spurious charges or missing in Iran”, NBC News reported.
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