On Sunday, Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told the official Iranian News Agency (ISNA) that if all goes well, a prisoner exchange may take place between Tehran and Washington in the next few days.
"We have reached an agreement in recent days regarding the exchange of prisoners between Iran and the United States. In our opinion, everything is ready," the diplomat said.
Amirabdollahian mentioned that the exchange agreement had been "signed and approved indirectly" last year.
However, in Washington, State Department spokesman Ned Price vehemently denied the claim, calling it "another especially cruel lie that only adds to the suffering of the families" of those detained in Iran.
The United States is "working relentlessly to secure the release of the three wrongfully detained Americans in Iran," Price said, adding, "We will not stop until they are reunited with their loved ones."
A statement from the White House Security Council described Tehran's allegations as "false".
The statement also named three US citizens currently detained in Iran, "Unfortunately, Iranian officials will not hesitate to make things up, and the latest cruel claim will cause more heartache for the families of Siamak Namazi, Emad Shargi, and Morad Tahbaz."
Iran's allegations come two days after Siamak Namazi, an Iranian-American businessman who has been in Tehran's notorious Evin prison since 2015, was allowed to give an interview to US news channel CNN.
Banned from leaving the country, Namazi was found guilty of collaborating with a foreign government and imprisoned. He denies the accusation, which the United States calls "groundless".
Iran also arrested Namazi's father, Mohammad Baquer Namazi, a former UNICEF official, when he traveled there to help his son.
In October 2016, the two men were each sentenced to 10 years in prison for espionage. However, al-Namazi al-Akbar was allowed to leave Iran in October 2022 for medical reasons.
Follow the latest news on Google News
