CHRI:

Foreign Minister Javad Zarif’s statement today that he has the “authority” to exchange Iranian-Americans imprisoned in Iran with the US is a glaring admission that these prisoners are being held as political hostages.

“If ever there was a question that imprisoned dual nationals in Iran are being used as political pawns, Zarif publicly admitted today that his government has taken these people as hostages,” said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI).

“The foreign minister spoke as though he was trying to make a business deal when he’s actually playing with the lives of people who have been destroyed by the Iranian government,” he added.

On April 24, 2019, Zarif said he had offered to exchange Iranian-Americans held in Iran with Iranians held in the US but had received no response from the Trump administration.

“I put this offer on the table now,” he said. “Exchange them… I am ready to do it, and I have authority to do it,” Zarif said at an invite-only talk hosted by the Asia Society in New York.

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