Ghashghavi: The Issue of Iranian-American Prisoner Exchange is Not True

An Iranian Foreign Ministry official denied reports about an agreement between Tehran and Washington regarding the exchange of Iranian and American prisoners. The Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) published statements from Hassan Ghashghavi, the Deputy for Consular and Parliamentary Affairs at the Foreign Ministry, on Tuesday, September 3, stating: "The issue of exchanging prisoners [Iranians and Americans] is not on the table, and such a thing is not true." The report refers to the case of Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post journalist, whose trial result will soon be announced in the Tehran Revolutionary Court. Mr. Rezaian has been detained since July 31 of last year, during which time the highest U.S. officials, including Barack Obama and John Kerry, have called for his release. Meanwhile, Tehran has also demanded the release of some Iranians held in U.S. prisons. According to Hassan Ghashghavi, "16 Iranian citizens are imprisoned in U.S. jails on charges of circumventing sanctions, along with 60 ordinary prisoners" for whom the Iranian Foreign Ministry is seeking freedom. However, he did not mention any specific names in this regard. Several reports have been published regarding U.S. court rulings against those who have violated Iran's sanctions, some of whom have been Iranian. On the other hand, besides Jason Rezaian, several American citizens are also imprisoned in Iran, and prior reports have suggested a possible exchange of them with Iranian prisoners in the U.S., including Amir Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine, whose lawyer claimed last winter that the U.S. had proposed an exchange. However, the U.S. State Department denied this claim. "The credibility of the Iranian passport has increased," Ghashghavi also mentioned on Tuesday, referring to the status of the Iranian passport and its credibility in the world. According to this Iranian Foreign Ministry official, "The credibility of the Iranian passport has risen, and statistics show that in all countries, the number of visas issued for Iranians has increased." Ghashghavi emphasized that the amount of visa issuance for citizens of any country is one of the components of the credibility of their passports. This statement comes as a 2014 report from the international firm Henley & Partners indicates that the Iranian passport remains one of the least credible passports, ranking 87th along with Congo and Kosovo out of 94 rankings. The criterion used by this firm to evaluate passport credibility is the number of countries that can be traveled to without a visa. Iranian citizens can travel to 40 countries without a visa, which shows some improvement in the status of the Iranian passport compared to 2012. In this context, Obama called for the release of Hekmati, Abedini, Rezaian, and the finding of Levinson, while the Senate passed a resolution for the release of American prisoners in Iran. Muniz stated that Kerry raised the issue of imprisoned Americans at every opportunity. Ali Rezaian stated that Jason's 13-month detention is against the law.