The United States has denied reports that it offered to release Iranian detainees in the U.S. in exchange for the freedom of Amir Hekmati, the former U.S. marine jailed in Iran.
On Tuesday December 30, Amir Hekmati’s lawyer in Iran reported that the U.S. has offered to exchange Hekmati with Iranian prisoners in America.
Marie Harf, a U.S. State Department spokesperson, denied the report on Tuesday, adding that the United States wants Iran to release Hekmati and the two other American citizens held in Iran: Saeed Abedini and Jason Rezaian.
Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabayi told ISNA on Tuesday that the U.S. has suggested the names of the Iranian prisoners it is wiling to exchange for Amir Hekmati.
Amir Hekmati was arrested in 2001 for spying in Iran; the United States denies the charges.
