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Iran insists prisoner swap not precondition for nuclear deal

Iran's comments came after US special envoy for Iran Robert Malley said a nuclear deal was unlikely without the release of four unjustly held Americans.
Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh speaks to media during a press conference in Tehran on Nov. 15, 2021.

Iran ruled out a prisoner exchange as a precondition for a renewed nuclear agreement on Monday, a day after the United States suggested a swap would be a necessary part of any deal made with the Islamic Republic. 

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters on Monday that Iran’s negotiators have never accepted a prisoner exchange as a precondition for the nuclear talks, which are “complicated enough and shouldn’t be made more complicated.” 

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