Foreign Minister says Iran-US deal on prisoners ‘close’

Oman’s Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi has said he believes Iran and the United States are close to reaching agreement on a deal on the release of Americans currently held in Iran.

In an interview with Al Monitor, Sayyid Badr also said Iran and the US were serious about reviving the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal.

As part of an agreement on reviving the JCPOA, Iran is seeking the release for humanitarian purposes of Iranian assets frozen under US sanctions.

In the interview, Sayyid Badr is reported as saying about the prisoner agreement: “I can say they are close. This is probably a question of technicalities.”

On the possibility of a deal to release frozen Iranian assets Sayyid Badr is quoted as saying: “They need to have a framework [and] a timeframe of how this should be orchestrated. I think they are ironing things out.”

Relations between Oman and Iran have entered a new phase following the recent official visit of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik to Iran.

A deal between Iran and Belgium, mediated by Oman, recently saw the release of a Belgian, a Dane and an Austrian from prison in Iran.

Sayyid Badr told Al Monitor there is a “positive atmosphere” surrounding the nuclear issue. He said Oman believes the Iranian leadership is serious about reaching an agreement.

“As long as the other side also reciprocates in good faith, they're willing to do this,” he is quoted as saying.

This is an unofficial English version of an Arabic report. To view the official Arabic text, click here.