Iran says initial deal reached with US for prisoner swap

Iran and the United States have reached an agreement to exchange prisoners, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told state TV on Sunday, adding that he hoped the exchange would take place soon.

"Regarding the issue of prisoner swaps between Iran and the U.S. we have reached an agreement in the recent days and if everything goes well on the U.S. side, I think we will witness a prisoner exchange in a short period," Amirabdollahian said. One of several Americans held in Iran is Siamak Namazi, a businessman with dual U.S.-Iranian citizenship, who was sentenced in 2016 to 10 years in prison for spying and cooperating with the U.S. government.

Emad Sharghi, an Iranian-American businessman was first arrested in 2018 when he was working for a tech investment company, is also jailed in Iran, as is Iranian-American environmentalist Morad Tahbaz, who also holds British citizenship. (Additional reporting by Elwely Elwelly in Dubai Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Hugh Lawson)