Tag: Iran

US Official: Iran’s Arrest Warrant for Trump is a ‘Propaganda Stunt’

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US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook said at a press conference in Saudi Arabia on Monday that Iran’s arrest warrant for President Donald Trump and 35 other people in connection with the killing of prominent military commander Qassem Soleimani was just a “propaganda stunt.”

Iran issued on Monday what it said was an “arrest warrant” against US President Donald Trump and dozens of others believed to have been involved in the drone attack that killed Soleimani in Iraq on January 3. 

The Iranian Fars News Agency reported on June 29 that Tehran asked the International Police (Interpol) for assistance in detaining the accused.

Standing next to the Saudi minister of state for foreign affairs, Hook said: “Our assessment is that Interpol does not interfere by issuing red flyers based on requests of a political nature.”

“This is a matter of political nature, and has nothing to do with national security, world peace or the promotion of stability … It is a propaganda ploy that no one takes seriously,” he added.

Interpol later responded to Tehran, saying it “would not consider requests of this nature.” The organization added in a statement that its guidelines prohibit “any interference or activities of a political nature.”

On January 3, 2020, an American drone strike in Iraq killed Soleimani, the commander of the Qods Force in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Washington had accused Soleimani of masterminding attacks by armed factions allied with Iran on American forces in the region.

Iran, however, deemed the extrajudicial killing an act of “terrorism and murder,” and retaliated by striking a US military base in Iraq. Tensions have since been running high in the region.

 

Read also: Iran to Execute Spy Who Gave Soleimani’s Location to US

Saudi Arabia Uses Warning Shots to Rebuff Iranian Boats

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Three Iranian boats sailing in arch-rival Saudi Arabia’s waters ignored warnings and refused to respond to Border Guards instructions on June 25, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported on Saturday night.  

“On Thursday, Maritime Border Guard patrols detected three Iranian boats that entered Saudi waters. They were immediately followed, and repeated warnings were issued for them to stop, but they refused to respond,” said an official spokesman for Saudi Arabia’s border Guards. 

Saudi coast guard vessels eventually chased away the Iranian boats, reporting that they “fired warning shots, forcing the Iranian boats to retreat,” in line with official protocol.

 Iranian state media has responded, claiming the boasts contained innocent fishermen on a 10-day trip, who were not hurt in the confrontation with the Saudi coast guard.  

Shia Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia have been locked in a bitter struggle for regional religious and military supremacy for decades. Both countries have taken advantage of civil conflicts in Yemen and Syria, for example, and turned them into proxy wars in an attempt to expand their influence.

Maritime tensions have been running high in the Arabian Gulf for months, fuelled primarily by incidents between the US Navy and Iranian vessels. The US and Saudi Arabia have previously discussed maritime security cooperation and the importance of maintaining freedom of navigation in the strategic Strait of Hormuz. 

On April 22, US President Donald Trump shared a tweet saying, “I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea.” He published the message hours after Iranian media reported the IRGC had successfully launched a defense satellite into orbit. 

A day later, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) chief responded by instructing his forces to follow suit. 

“I have ordered our naval forces to destroy any American terrorist force in the Persian Gulf that threatens [the] security of Iran’s military or non-military ships,” IRGC Major General Hossein Salami said on April 23. 

Tensions have run high between the US and Iran ever since President Trump unilaterally pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018 and re-imposed economic sanctions on the rogue nuclear state. The relationship has grown more fractious in recent months after a US drone strike killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in January, and retaliatory Iranian airstrikes on an Iraqi base injured US troops. 

Read also: Maryam Shojaei Awarded for Efforts Supporting Iran’s Female Soccer Fans

Economic Woes Could Trigger New Levant Conflict

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When the militant extremists of ISIS started occupying territory in 2013, Iraq and Syria seemingly became the center of the world. Camera-crews from around the world reported breathlessly on each small town where black-clad men in pick-up trucks were advancing. Cities like Mosul, Raqqa and Palmyra became common features in news items as each small conquest was widely shared.

But in 2020, it seems very few still care about the region. Camera-crews have moved on and politicians have found new enemies to worry about. The reporting in the region does garnish is a stream of negative news. Financial crises, the impact of COVID-19, rising bread prices, it appears the region just cannot catch a break from misery.

Countries like Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria face multiple crises at once, with far-reaching consequences for neighboring countries and the region as a whole. What seems like an uncommonly troubled region where misery appears to simply compound and evolve, is largely a strategy of orchestrated and controlled chaos at the behest of foreign powers and institutions.

Hyperinflation

Comments on “hyperinflation” are becoming more common in reports on Syria and Lebanon, as extreme inflation causes prices for basic necessities to skyrocket amid stagnant or diminishing wages. Hyperinflation has sparked renewed protests in Syria, unseen since Bashar al-Assad and Russia reasserted control over the country through a brutal military campaign.

In Lebanon protests have again rocked the country, with much of the ire aimed at the country’s banking sector and the Lebanese central bank itself. A crisis of institutionalized corruption and sectarianism have intertwined with the country’s dwindling foreign currency reserves and the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic to create a “perfect storm” of troubles for the Lebanese.

Austerity

In response to a historic drop in oil demand, oil prices have tumbled to levels that no expert could have predicted at the start of the year. For countries in the region, the drop in state revenue leaves large gaps in their national budget amid an increase of costs for the healthcare sector and much needed basic support for the poorest and most vulnerable.

In order to find funds abroad, countries like Lebanon and Iraq face increasing pressures from global institutions to reform their countries in order to cut public spending, boost the private sector and increase foreign direct investment. Receiving loans from institutions like the World Bank and the IMF means bending domestic policy to align with foreign visions and implementing unpopular reforms.

Sanctions

Then there are ever increasing sanctions that further weaken local economies. The US targets the leadership of Syria by halting most international trade, including from its destitute neighbor Lebanon. Washington similarly limits Iraq’s ability to buy much needed energy from its neighbor Iran, with the US issuing “waivers” that allow Iraq to import Iranian electricity.

Iran itself is facing crippling sanctions that have turned a health crisis into an unmitigated human tragedy, as the country continues to have the life squeezed out of its last remaining international trade. Iran has faced severe medical shortages and faced major barriers to importing much needed protective equipment and medicine, making the spread of COVID-19 in the entire region more likely.

Misery by Design

While hyperinflation, austerity, and sanctions continue to make an impact on citizens’ lives in the region, none of these are accidental byproducts, but instead are very much the intended goal. Financial support only comes when nations submit to the “Washington Consensus,” turning their countries into neoliberal countries rife for exploitation by foreign multinationals.

Sanctions and hyperinflation are similarly highly related to foreign influence. Sanctions on Syria intend not just to hurt its leadership but actively intend to starve the people of Syria and Lebanon into revolt against its leaders. US officials regularly regurgitate their belief that economic hardship for citizens will lead to a popular uprising that will replace elements of the government that the US does not like.

Sovereignty

While it appears that countries in the region roll from one crisis to the next, in truth these countries have never been “granted” the ability to stop these crises. Iraq cannot exercise any sense of a sovereign foreign policy because of its reliance on US support, Lebanon cannot reform its banking sector without demands from the IMF, and Syria is unlikely to have a “successful” new revolution after al-Assad’s inhumane crushing of dissent.

If foreign powers are genuine about creating stability in the region, they would be best served by leaving the region to determine its own future. The US alone could make a significant contribution to local stability by following the will of the Iraqi people by withdrawing its forces. The US could also lift sanctions on Syria and Iran and allow Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon to freely decide who it trades with.

Freedom to choose

Stability in the region will only materialize when local economies are allowed to grow, politicians are permitted to succeed, and nations can freely trade with one another. The only standard the West needs to follow, is the standard of national sovereignty that it sets for itself. Greater personal freedoms, religious tolerance, and gender equality all depend on rising living standards and the absence of fear and chaos.

By removing foreign influence from the region, the Levant and its neighbors could have a genuine shot at improving the lives of its citizens, unconstrained by the motivations and goals of nations thousands of miles away. As long as foreign powers freely meddle with the fate of millions of local people, the Levant and its neighbors will continue to spiral into further chaos, exactly as was intended.

Maryam Shojaei Awarded for Efforts Supporting Iran’s Female Soccer Fans

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Iran has banned women from attending live soccer matches since the 1979 Revolution, but six years ago Maryam Shojaei started fighting to change that. She has now been awarded the Stuart Scott ENSPIRE Award for her efforts. The award is named in honor of former ESPN commentator Stuart Scott, and celebrates people that have taken risks and used an innovative approach to helping the disadvantaged through the power of sports — qualities that Shojaei embodies.  

For the last 40 years the conservative Islamic regime in Iran has banned women, 50% of the population, from attending men’s football games to protect them from “profane language” and “half-naked men.” Their love for the game has never wavered and Shojaei has fought both at home and internationally for change. 

“It became clear after a while that there wouldn’t be any change within Iran. And I took my activism abroad — I went to matches all over the world, held banners, got the attention of the media and the federation. I recognized it had to be a global movement,” she told ESPN on June 18. 

“Slowly, when they realized I am not going anywhere, the focus became about how to change this unwritten rule in Iran.”

Anonymously at first in 2014, then vocally, Maryam Shojaei mounted a campaign after travelling to Canada to watch the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2015. What started off on social media turned into a full blown crusade including a #NoBan4Women petition, holding protest banners at the FIFA World Cup in Russia, and putting sustained pressure on FIFA to let women watch internationals in Iran.

Long, Hard Fight for Change 

The road was not easy, and even Shojaei’s friends questioned if her fight was worth it, pointing out that violence and bad behavior are part-and-parcel of football culture in Iran. Others questioned the importance female participation at football matches, when Iranian women face a raft of gender-based discrimination and challenges. 

“They say that even if the stadium is open for women today, they won’t take their wives and mothers there because they know what kind of atmosphere exists there.” 

“My response to that always is, ‘This can happen on the streets, this can happen everywhere,’ and that the atmosphere is that way because it’s a one-gender environment,” said Shojaei who is also the sister of Iran’s national captain, Masoud Shojaei.

Incremental Success

She eventually achieved a victory in October 2019 when Iranian women, for the first time in 41 years were allowed to attend the FIFA World Cup qualifier between Iran and Cambodia in Tehran. It was a huge success, with the initial 3,500 ticket release selling out. Even with another 1,000 tickets sold, despite finally getting a foot in the door, women still only made up around 5% of the crowd at that match.

“These changes — toward the stadium ban it was a big step, but toward equality it is a small step. It wasn’t the biggest problem for Iranian women. We have other problems that need to be solved. But still, it was a big step because that was the first victory. I was proud of myself and so many Iranian women who fought the stadium ban.”

FIFA President Gianni Infantino says the sport’s governing body is still pushing Iran to open up domestic football matches, not just internationals, to female soccer fanatics. “There can be no stopping or turning back now,” the peak body said in October 2019.

“FIFA now looks more than ever towards a future when ALL girls and women wishing to attend football matches in Iran will be free to do so, and in a safe environment.

Shojaei says her activism was sparked by a terrifying incident from her childhood, during the Iran-Iraq war.  

“I was 4 when the war between Iran and Iraq [1980-88] started. On the first day of the war, our home was destroyed. None of us were home. Otherwise, all of us would be dead. That’s probably why I speak out when I see something unfair — like with the violation of basic women’s rights and peace.”

It seems that things are in fact looking up and change is coming from a surprising source within Iran itself — the men.

“About 10 months ago, an Iranian stadium was packed — of course all with men. I was very moved by what they said in [Azeri],” Shojaei said. “One half of the stadium said, ‘We are missing our Iranian women,’ and the other half responded by saying, ‘It’s their right.’ I was so moved.” 

“For Iranian men and for other countries where women are treated as second-class citizens, the men could take advantage of the privileges they have. But in this case, they were complaining about inequality and underscoring women’s rights, which was very precious to me. 

“When the oppressors take a stand for the oppressed, it’s more powerful.”

Read also: Iranian Prison Guards Allegedly Beat, Drugged Australian Academic

 

 

Iranian Prison Guards Allegedly Beat, Drugged Australian Academic

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In 2018 Iran arrested the Oxford-educated University of Melbourne lecturer at Tehran Airport after she attended a conference. A court tried her in secret on spying charges, which Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade rejected, and she has been detained in Iran’s Evin Prison ever since.  

Kylie Moore-Gilbert, a dual UK-Australian citizen, has allegedly become a beacon of hope and target for guards after starting a jail-house choir and sending messages to new prisoners.  

Sources close to the academic told The Times that Moore-Gilbert’s makeshift choir, which sang and hummed as a form of protest and comradeship, enraged guards who beat her severely.  

The attack supposedly left the former-Islamic Studies lecturer with wounds to her arms and hands and severe bruising all over her body. The beating was so bad a source close to Moore-Gilbert says she needed medical treatment and was left so weak she appeared almost “comatose.” 

“She got huge respect from other prisoners for being so inventive in her defiance,” the close family friend revealed. 

In letters smuggled out of the prison, Moore-Gilbert told friends that Iranian security services tried to tempt her into becoming a spy in exchange for her release — a deal she resisted. Her attempts to reach out to other prisoners and warn them of this, and other intimidation tactics used at the prison, have also apparently wrought the ire of prison guards. 

Unable to turn Moore-Gilbert into an Iranian spy or beat her into submission, sources told the Times that guards turned to drugging the academic in order to keep her “compliant.” The orders apparently came directly from Evin Prison’s governor, and according to the husband of another Evin inmate, is a common practice. 

Richard Ratcliffe’s wife, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, is a dual British-Iranian citizen who was incarcerated in Evin Prison until being released on furlough due to COVID-19.  

Nazanin and Moore-Gilbert spent time in the same prison wing and in solitary confinement where Nazanin’s husband said he understands “most people” are “being drugged.” 

“[Moore-Gilbert] is being kept in solitary (confinement) at a level of abuse that’s egregious, and the fact that the Iranian authorities are getting away with it is something that has shocked all the Iranian activists we’ve worked with,” Ratcliffe said.  

The latest shocking allegations about Moore-Gilbert’s treatment at the hands of Iranian authorities come a month after her family denied reports she had attempted suicide.  

“We have had a number of conversations with Kylie in recent weeks. She has strongly denied reports that she has attempted suicide or that she is being tortured,” Moore-Gilbert’s family said in a statement on May 17. 

“She seems to be in good health considering her situation. We love her and miss her,” they added. 

The Australian Embassy in Tehran says it continues to make “diplomatic representations on Dr Moore-Gilbert’s case” and “to impress on Iranian authorities the importance of Dr Moore-Gilbert’s maintaining regular contact with her family and consular officials in Tehran.”

Read also: Iran to Execute Spy Who Gave Soleimani’s Location to US

Exploring the ‘Art of Persia’ as Iran Mulls Reopening for Tourism

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Home to 22 UNESCO World Heritage cultural sites, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s past encompasses an intoxicating mix of empires, invading armies, and ancient poets. Despite the current regime’s predilection for hardline interpretations of the Quran and emphasis on Iran’s Islamic identity, the country’s pre-Islamic cultural heritage sites increasingly feature in pitches made to international visitors. 

Despite extensive cultural offerings and low costs for food and accommodation, Iran remains relatively untouched by mass tourism. Hard-hitting sanctions, including flight bans, and frosty relations with much of the West have historically kept visitor numbers low. In recent years Iranian officials have made concerted efforts to increase tourist numbers. In 2019, Iran recorded a 29.7% year-on-year increase in tourists, bringing total visitor numbers to just over seven million. 

Iranian officials hoping to see this trend continue were optimistic earlier this month about the possibility of welcoming tourists again from July. However, with over 100 COVID-19 daily deaths reported across the weekend, the highest numbers since mid-April, Iran may need to adjust timelines for tourists returning as the country focuses on containing the virus for a second time. 

Prior to COVID-19 the historical and cultural sites drawing international travelers included the ancient city of Persepolis and the Pink Mosque (officially Nasir al-Molk Mosque). 

BBC explores the “Art of Persia” 

In 2019, the BBC’s Samira Ahmed spent six weeks with a film crew traveling across the country documenting some of its most sacred heritage sites. The result, the three-part “Art of Persia” series, is a journey across 2000 years of art and culture. 

The Persians once ruled an empire from Egypt to Northern India and whilst their empire no longer exists, Persian culture and identity has withstood the arrival of invading armies, new languages, and a new religion to remain a source of pride among Iranians today. 

Among the historical sites featured in the program are the garden tombs of Saadi and Hafez, Persian poets from the Middle Ages whose work inspired that of European writers. The tombs are popular pilgrimage sites. In recent times, the English translations of Hafez’s poetry have become a source of controversy with scholars claiming they are too inaccurate to be considered a reproduction of Hafez’s work. 

At the crux of critiques of the English translations is the erasure of Hafez’s Persian and Muslim identity. For Professor Omid Safi of Duke University, this is an issue of “power, privilege and erasure” that robs the poetry of its original spirituality. 

Among the most wondrous sites featured is the Nasir al-Molk Mosque, known colloquially as the Pink Mosque due to the extensive use of rose-colored tiles throughout the building. Located in Shiraz, in the Southwest of Iran, the mosque was built in the late 19th century. 

Adding to the mosque’s uniqueness is the use of stained glass, not a common feature in mosque architecture. Sunrise sees light shine through the windows with elaborate patterns and colors cast onto its floor to create a breathtaking site. 

Iran to Execute Spy Who Gave Soleimani’s Location to US

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On Tuesday, the Iranian judiciary announced that alleged CIA and Mossad spy Mahmoud Mousavi-Majd has been sentenced to death for passing information to the US and Israel about the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani. 

Soleimani was killed when a US drone fired missiles at a convoy of Quds Force and Iraninian militias leaving Baghdad International Airport on January 3. Soleimani’s death heightened US-Iran tensions, and a retaliatory airstrike by Iran on March 11 killed two Americans and one British soldier. 

Iranian judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili told Iranian television the man they believe responsible for passing information to the US about Soleimani’s whereabouts, Mahmoud Mousavi-Majd, “will be executed soon.”  

“Mahmoud Mousavi-Majd, one of the spies for the CIA and the Mossad, has been sentenced to death … He had shared information about the whereabouts of martyr Soleimani with our enemies,” Esmaili told the June 9 press conference.  

“He passed on security information to the Israeli and American intelligence agencies about Iran’s armed forces, particularly the [Revolutionary] Guards.” 

A later statement from the Iranian judiciary clarified that, while Iran believes Mousavi-Majd passed information to its enemies about Soleimani, that information was not used to carry out the so-called “terrorist act of the U.S. government” that killed the commander at Baghdad International Airport in January.  

“All the legal proceedings in the case of this spy … had been carried out long before the martyrdom of Soleimani,” the judiciary explained.  

Mousavi-Majd was, according to Iran, arrested in October 2018. A revolutionary court originally handed him a death sentence by a revolutionary court, and upon appeal Iran’s supreme court upheld the decision. 

Read also: Iran Releases US Prisoner in Long-Awaited Swap Deal

Iran Releases US Prisoner in Long-Awaited Swap Deal

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Michael White walked free from prison on Thursday , June 4, as a “humanitarian gesture” by Iran, and promptly boarded a flight to Zurich where he met with Brian Hook, the US diplomat who negotiated his freedom. White and Hook then boarded an American government plane and touched down in the United States on Friday. 

The United States Special envoy to Iran, Hook, lauded the deal as a win-win at a press conference at the mid-way point of White’s journey home.  

“We were simultaneously able to secure the release of an American Navy veteran from an Iranian prison and accomplish our law enforcement objectives,” Hook told Fox News Channel from the tarmac in Zurich.  

White said he was relieved to be released and recovering “pretty decently” from his time in Iranian jail, telling Fox News Channel, “I feel all right, and happy to be back.” 

“I’m improving. I did contract coronavirus in the Mashhad central prison prior to going out on furlough.”

‘I’m getting a lot better as a result of the Swiss Embassy and all the efforts of the Trump administration,” a Hawaiian-shirt clad White told reporters. 

For its part, the Swiss Embassy which represents the US in Iran, welcomed the “humanitarian gesture” behind the swap deal, adding it “stands ready” to assist in the future. 

White also thanked President Donald Trump “for his efforts both diplomatically and otherwise, making America great again.” 

The successful deal is a boost for the embattled US President and he was quick to tweet about White’s return. 

“So great to have Michael home. Just arrived. Very exciting. Thank you to Iran,” Trump fired off.

Taheri Release

 Back in the United States, a judge in Atlanta, Florida agreed to a deal which enabled dual US-Iranian citizen Matteo Taheri to be sentenced to time served for sanction and banking violations.  

“There are numerous foreign policy interests that are furthered by this particular sentence,” U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May said.

Taheri pleaded guilty to the charges of violating US sanctions, but is not considered a security threat and is now free to remain in America or travel to Iran.

“The United States government and the government of Iran have been negotiating the release of a U.S. citizen held in Iranian custody. This case, and more specifically the sentence recommendation, is directly related to these negotiations,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracia King explained during Taheri’s June 4 hearing.

Taheri’s legal team said he was planning to take a long-awaited trip to Iran and visit his family, but would ultimately return to the United States. 

Iran’s Reaction 

Iran welcomed the deal, but used the breakthrough to again extend calls for the release of all Iranian prisoners in the United States. 

“Pleased that Dr. Majid Taheri and Mr. White will soon be joining their families,” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted on June 4. “Prof. Sirous Asgari was happily reunited with his family on Weds.”

“This can happen for all prisoners,” Zarif added. 

“No need for cherry picking. Iranian hostages held in—and on behalf of—the US should come home.”

The deal also comes just days after Iranian scientist Sirous Asgari, referred to in Zarif’s tweet, was deported from the US back to Iran on June 3. State Department and Iranian officials said his release was not part of the deal, clarifying that his case was a separate matter.

The Iranian government has previously declared they are prepared for a full prisoner exchange but are waiting on a US response. 

The successful swap-deal is a rare bright-spot for Iran-US relations and a win for quiet diplomacy. The relationship has been tense since Trump pulled out of the nuclear deal, and re-imposed sanctions in 2018. It was further inflamed this year by the US rocket-strike death of Iranian Quds Force chief Qassem Soleimani in January, and naval tensions in the Arabian Gulf. 

Read also: Iranian FM: US Deports Jailed Iranian Professor 

 

Iranian FM: US Deports Jailed Iranian Professor

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Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif announced today that the US has deported Iranian Professor Sirous Asgari, recently acquitted of stealing trade secrets, back to Iran. 

The 59-year-old scientist is now back in Iran with his family, according to an Instagram post by Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif.  

“Hello friends. Good news. Dr. Sirous Asgari is in the air on a flight back to Iran. Congratulations to his wife and family,” the foreign minister said.

US authorities detained Asgari, a materials science and engineering professor, in April 2016 on charges of fraud and stealing trade secrets, in contravention of US sanctions. The professor maintained he was only in the US to visit his two daughters. The court acquitted Asgari on all charges in November, but Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained him shortly after his release and held Asgari at a facility in Louisiana.  

The father of three contracted COVID-19 during his detention at the ICE facility, Winn Correctional Center, which authorities used to justify the delay in his deportation. Asgari was highly critical of the US authorities’ response to the center’s COVID-19 outbreak, and told the Guardian conditions were unclean and “inhumane.”

“It makes sense to send me to the hospital as soon as possible. I don’t trust them at all,” he said in an interview amid coughing fits on April 28. “If something happens, they are not fast responders … I prefer to leave this dirty place.”

The news of Asgari’s long-awaited deportation from the US comes after Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on Monday “Mr. Sirous Asgari’s case has been closed,” and he would soon be returning to Iran. 

“Security of the Iranian inmates in the U.S. and Europe, whom we considered being taken as hostages, is very important for us,” the spokesman said. 

Prisoner Swap in the Cards 

Asgari’s return potentially paves the way for a rare prisoner swap deal between bitter enemies the US and Iran. 

On May 10, Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei released a statement saying Iran was ready to move ahead with a prisoner swap deal, but had not received a response from Washington.  

“We have announced that we are ready without any preconditions to exchange all prisoners and we are prepared to discuss the issue but Americans have not responded yet,” Rabiei said in a statement circulating among the Iranian government website and state news outlets. 

The likely US candidate if a swap does occur would be US Navy veteran Michael White, who is currently on furlough but has been imprisoned in Iran since 2018. The three other US citizens known to be jailed in Iran are father and son Siamak Namazi and Baquer Namazi and US-Iranian conservationist Morad Tahbaz, who also holds British citizenship. 

The last prisoner swap to take place between the two foes occurred in December 2019 when US Ph.D. student Xiuye Wang was returned in exchange for Iranian stem cell scientist Masoud Soleimani.  

Read also: Hardline, Ex-Tehran Mayor Qalibaf Becomes Iran’s New Parliamentary Speaker

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