UPDATE 1-Pompeo has no comment on possibility of U.S.-Iran prisoner swap

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declined on Thursday to discuss the possibility of a prisoner swap between the United States and Iran following the United States' deportation of an Iranian woman.

"So, I never talk about sensitive issues as you described there," Pompeo told reporters when asked about the woman, Negar Ghodskani, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud and commit offenses against the United States and was sentenced by a federal court to time served, and whether he expected Iran to soon release a detained Princeton University doctoral student. Ghodskani's lawyer, Robert Richman, told Reuters she was deported on Tuesday.

Xiyue Wang, a U.S. citizen who was conducting dissertation research in Iran in 2016 when he was detained by Iranian authorities, was accused by Iran of "spying under the cover of research," a claim his family and university deny. He was subsequently convicted on espionage charges, sentenced to 10 years in prison, and his appeal was denied.

U.S. officials typically do not discuss such cases in public. Brian Hook, the U.S. State Department's special representative for Iran, on Monday said that if Iran wanted to show good faith, it should release the U.S. citizens it has detained, including the Princeton graduate student. "We spent time this week, we spend time nearly every day working to release the Americans and others who are detained wrongfully inside of Iran. We will continue to do that," Pompeo said. "And I hope and pray that we make progress on that as we continue to move forward."

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