Tehran, Iran, May 12
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
Iranian lawyer Nabi Ahmadloo says the issue of releasing US prisoners in Iran as part of a nuclear deal is something far-fetched.
The administration of President Barack Obama is under a lot of pressure and it needs something with which to feed to the public mind at home, Ahmadloo told Trend May 12.
The US Senate on Monday unanimously passed a resolution calling on Iranian officials to immediately release three Americans held in Iran and help locate a fourth, according to AP.
The measure, which passed 90-0, calls for Iran to free Saeed Abedini, Amir Hekmati and Jason Rezaian and cooperate with the U.S. government in locating and returning former FBI agent Robert Levinson, who is believed to be missing in Iran.
Reiterating that non-nuclear demands by the US serve as propaganda to answer domestic needs in its standoff with Iran, Ahmadloo said that such demands have never really found a place in the actual course of the talks on Iran's nuclear program.
Iran and the group 5+1 (the US, UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany) are holding talks on the Islamic Republic's nuclear program.
The sides are expected to reach a final agreement by June 30.
The lawyer added that the Obama administration is also under pressure from Israel and Arab states. They (US government) are really determined to make the talks yield a result, but in the meantime they have to deal with the opposing sides as well, Ahmadloo stated.
Edited by CN
Mehdi Sepahvand is Trend Agency's journalist in Iran, follow him on Twitter: @mehdisepahvand