US to seek inperson meetings with Iran over prisoner releases

US - The United States would like a in-person meeting with Iran to discuss prisoner releases and it wants the UN Security Council to impose an indefinite arms embargo on the Islamic Republic, a senior US diplomat said on Tuesday. The two adversaries disagree on many issues, including US President Donald Trump’s decision two years ago to abandon the 2015 Iran nuclear deal under which

Tehran limited its nuclear programme in return for economic sanctions relief. Trump has since restored US sanctions that have choked Iran’s oil exports, the country’s main source of revenue, while Iran has accelerated its nuclear programme. Washington believes Iran may seek a nuclear weapon, something Tehran denies.

Despite the tensions, the two sides struck a deal under which

Iran on June 4 freed a US Navy veteran it had imprisoned since 2018 and the US allowed an Iranian-American physician to visit Iran. Speaking at a virtual event hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations, US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook said he hoped for further prisoner exchanges and talks on a wide array of issues.

(Al Jazeera)