Iran12 June, 20262 min read
Iran Denies New Prisoner Swap With U.S. Amid Stalled Talks Mediated by Pakistan and Qatar
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Iran denies any new prisoner swap with the United States. Indirect talks remain stalled; no final agreement has been reached.
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Swap Denials Amid Talks
Iran denied any new prisoner swap with the United States, with Press TV reporting that there is "no evidence of a new prisoner swap between Iran and the United States" and denying claims of spy releases. The denial came as indirect negotiations between the countries were described as ongoing but stalled, mediated by Pakistan and Qatar, with no official agreements reached.
Iran’s judiciary also dismissed claims circulated by President Donald Trump, saying its verification found that "no individuals, either detained or convicted as American spies" had been released or exchanged with the United States. In parallel, Anadolu Ajansı described a prior, most significant exchange in decades in which "five Iranian-American detainees" were swapped for unfrozen assets of Iran worth "$6 billion" held in South Korea, announced in August 2023.
Threats, Strikes, and Nuclear
Euronews reported that an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps source warned that any new attack on Iran’s energy infrastructure would be met with retaliatory strikes targeting energy assets in the region, after Israel bombed the Karun petrochemical complex in Khuzestan and the Guards answered within an hour by striking facilities in Haifa. The same report said the IRGC warned that oil and energy companies operating in the region, including American or Israeli shareholders, are "legitimate targets".
At a Foreign Ministry weekly briefing on Monday, spokesman Ismail Bagheri rejected Donald Trump’s claim that Washington tried to prevent Israeli strikes, saying "No one believes that Israel could undertake any action without coordination with the United States." Bagheri also hinted that Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium could be discussed in the second phase of negotiations, while saying the current talks focus on ending the war and that the prisoner exchange with the United States is "not currently on the agenda."
France Detainees and Hostage Claims
In Iran-France prisoner-exchange diplomacy, Jean-Noël Barrot declined to comment on the possibility of an agreement, telling France Inter, "France has always demanded the immediate and unconditional release of its nationals in Iran." Abbas Araghchi said Tehran and Paris negotiations for the exchange of prisoners "have approached their final stages" and expected the action to take place in the "coming days," while also saying no exact time had been set.
VOA Farsi reported that Iran freed two French nationals, Cécile Koehler and Jacques Paris, who had been detained in Evin Prison for "three and a half years," and said Jean-Noël Barrot told French television they were now in Azerbaijan and would return to France on Wednesday morning. VOA Farsi also framed the releases as continuing Iran’s "hostage-taking policy," while Press TV denied that any Iran-US prisoner exchange or spy release had taken place after Donald Trump announced an American citizen had been released.