BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 2. Iran has denied having any direct talks with the US on various issues, despite the recent prisoner swap and the release of its frozen assets, Trend reports.
The spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Kanaani, said at a press conference in Tehran on October 2, 2023, that the current Iranian government, which took office in August 2021, has not engaged in any direct discussions with the US.
Kanaani said that the only talks between Iran and the US were indirect and mediated by other countries. He said that these talks resulted in the exchange of prisoners and the unblocking of Iran’s frozen assets abroad.
On September 18, 2023, Iran and the US exchanged five prisoners each, with the help of Qatar. Five US citizens who were detained in Iran were freed in exchange for five Iranian citizens who were held in the US.
On the same day, Iran also received $6 billion of its assets that were frozen in South Korea, thanks to Qatar’s mediation. The money was transferred to an account in one of Iran’s regional allies (Qatar).
The spokesman did not comment on the status of the nuclear talks between Iran and the world powers, which have been stalled since June 2021. The US withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions on Iran, which in turn reduced its compliance with the deal. The new Iranian government has said that it will not resume the talks until the US lifts all sanctions.
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