Blinken and Raab meet; deny prisoner exchange with Iran for money
The US and British foreign ministers have rejected any agreement with Iran to exchange prisoners for money, but have announced diplomatic efforts in this regard. Dominic Raab called the talk of Nazanin Zaghari's release in exchange for London's debt to Tehran inaccurate.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his British counterpart Dominic Raab, while emphasizing diplomatic efforts to free their citizens in Iran, called published reports of an agreement with Tehran to exchange prisoners for money incorrect.
The two held a press conference after meeting on the sidelines of the G7 summit. Dominic Raab described reports of Nazanin Zaghari's release in exchange for London paying an old debt to Tehran as "inaccurate".
Anthony Blinken also emphasized that returning detained citizens home is America's top priority, adding: "We must take a strong stand against the arbitrary detention of our citizens that is politically motivated."
The British Foreign Secretary, in similar remarks to reporters, said: "Boris Johnson's government is working intensively to release citizens detained in Iran."
Dominic Raab considered it Iran's duty to release prisoners who have been arbitrarily and illegally detained in Iran.
Raab has previously said that Iran's treatment of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe amounts to torture.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson emphasized on Monday evening that Ms. Zaghari's release and Britain's decades-long debt to Iran are two separate issues, but that London will do everything it can to free this dual-national prisoner.
The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRNA) news channel and the Lebanese Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen newspaper reported on Sunday (May 2) that Tehran and London had reached an agreement in their negotiations on the release of Ms. Zaghari-Zaghi in exchange for the 400 million pounds Iran is demanding from Britain.
Ms. Zaghari's lawyer, Hojjat Kermani, has also stated that he is not aware of such an issue and has not received any notification of his client's release.
Source: DW
