Iranian FM: Iran-US reached agreement on prisoner swap, to happen soon

Amirabdollahian added that if everything goes well, the prisoner exchange will happen soon.

He said Tehran and Washington indirectly signed a document last March but that agreement is being implemented now.

The foreign minister also noted that the two sides are exchanging messages on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal, JCPOA.

Amirabdolalhian maintained that Iran believes a deal is at hand.

The top Iranian diplomat stressed that all baseless accusations against Iran must be withdrawn at the International Atomic Energy Agency and that this is a redline for the Islamic Republic. Amirabdolalhian said, “We are on the path of diplomacy and dialogue and we hope that we will reach a desirable result as soon as possible.”

He also spoke about the normalization deal between Tehran and Riyadh announced on Friday.

Amirabdollahian said Iran and Saudi Arabia had been engaged in talks since many months before their agreement. “A meeting was held between me and the Saudi foreign minister in Jordan during the Baghdad II Conference and the Saudi side said his country was ready for restoration of ties with Iran”, he added.

The foreign minister also said the Chinese president put forth the idea of mediation between Iran and the Saudis before travelling to Riyadh.

According to Amirabdollahian, during the Iranian president’s visit to Beijing, the Chinese leader also spoke about the matter with President Ebrahim Raisi.

He underlined that Iran and Saudi Arabia reached an agreement after 50 hours of negotiations.

In other comments, Amirabdollahian noted that the Tehran-Riyadh agreement favors the interests of the two countries and regional peace and security.

He also said the deal is not against any regional nation.

As for Yemen, he said the Yemenis themselves must decide their future, but Iran is opposed against the continuation of war, be it in Yemen or in Ukraine or in other regions.