Iranian scientist Majid Taheri has returned to the Islamic Republic after being released from a US prison

Iran assures "to be ready" for more prisoner exchanges with the United States

photo_camera AP/VAHID SALEMI - Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi announced on Sunday that the Islamic Republic is prepared for further prisoner exchanges with the US, after appreciating Switzerland's efforts to free these people from US prisons. "We are ready to exchange other prisoners if it is possible," he insisted, according to the IRNA news agency. 

El médico iraní Majid Taheri, detenido en los Estados Unidos durante 16 meses, abraza a sus hijos a su llegada al Aeropuerto Internacional Imam Jomeini de Teherán el 8 de junio de 2020

The Iranian spokesman also expressed his concern about the actions of several US administrations. Michael White, a U.S. Navy veteran detained in Iran in 2018 for espionage, and Iranian-American doctor Mayid Taheri, convicted in the U.S. of violating sanctions against the Islamic Republic, were released last week in an exceptional case of cooperation between the two nations. 

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamad Yavad Zarif applauded this prisoner exchange via the social network Twitter. "Satisfied that Dr. Mayid Taheri and Mr. White will soon be joined by their families," he said. In this context, Zarif stressed that this could happen with other prisoners. "There is no need for selection. The Iranian hostages held in the US must return home," he said. Taheri was received at Imam Khomeini International Airport by Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari, according to the ISNA news agency, which published a photo of the two talking to a group of journalists.

El presidente de EEUU Donald Trump

Last Friday, Zarif accused Trump of being responsible for abandoning the nuclear deal in 2018, saying it was "a stupid decision". "His advisors, most of whom have been fired to date, made a stupid bet. It's up to you to decide when you want to fix it," he said. 

For his part, US President Donald Trump thanked his rival for the release of White, an American who had been detained in the Islamic Republic for two years. For Trump, this gesture is "a sign that an agreement is possible". "I just got off the phone with former American hostage Michael White, who is now in Zurich after being released from Iran. He will soon be on an American plane, and he is coming HOME to the U.S.! We have brought home about 40 American hostages and detainees since I took office," the American president said. 

El veterano de la Marina de EEUU Michael White sosteniendo una bandera doblada de los EE.UU. mientras posa con el Enviado Especial de los EE.UU. a Irán Brian Hook en el aeropuerto de Zurich

In December 2019, Teheran and Washington conducted a prisoner exchange, following the release of American researcher Xiyue Wang, arrested in 2016 for espionage, and Iranian scientist Masud Soleimani, arrested in 2018 for attempting to export biological material to Iran. In this context, Mousavi stressed that "If there is a possibility of exchanging prisoners, we are ready to release the rest of the people who are imprisoned in the United States and return them to the country".

Macron calls for the release of a French-Iranian academic
El presidente francés Emmanuel Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron has called for the immediate release of French-Iranian academic Fariba Adelkhah, who has been imprisoned in Iran since 5 June 2019. Adelkhah was arrested along with her colleague Roland Marchal, who was released last March after French authorities released Iranian engineer Jallal Rohollahnejad, who was at risk of being extradited to the United States on charges of violating sanctions, according to information published in the France 24 media. In response, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman has called Macron's accusations "interference" and insisted that this academic is being subjected to an "independent and fair" judicial process. 

Una imagen extraída de las imágenes obtenidas de la agencia de noticias estatal Iran Press el 21 de marzo de 2020, muestra a Jallal Rohollahnejad , un iraní liberado de Francia en un intercambio de prisioneros, abrazando a sus familiares a su llegada a Teherán

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. State Department announced new sanctions against nine entities and individuals accused of involvement in the trade or transport of Iranian petrochemicals. The new wave of sanctions came at a critical time for the Islamic Republic, one of the countries most affected by the coronavirus pandemic in the region.  The distance between Washington and Tehran has increased after the abandonment of the nuclear pact by the United States, a decision taken by Trump because he considered that this country was not fulfilling its commitments. 

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