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The United States has rejected an Iranian effort to separate the fate of four Americans detained in Iran from talks on a nuclear deal, calling it a “scandalous effort to deflect blame.”
The remarks of State Department spokesman Ned Price in Washington and Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s chief negotiator, are the latest evidence of a deadlock in the negotiations on a possible return of the United States to the agreement abandoned by the former President Donald Trump.
Araghchi took to Twitter on Saturday to ask the United States and the United Kingdom to “stop linking a humanitarian exchange” to the agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. He held hope prisoner release if the US and UK “fulfill their part of the deal.”
It is “just another cruel effort to spark hope in their families,” Price said in a statement.
“Araghchi is talking about taking a deal hostage when it is his government that has unjustly detained four innocent Americans for years,” said the State Department spokesman.
He said there was no agreement on the detainees and called on Iran to release them immediately.
In another tweet, Araghchi said nuclear talks in Vienna were on hold during Iran’s transition to power.
Relaunching the nuclear deal would pave the way for the lifting of sanctions against Iran in exchange for the Iranians cutting back on its nuclear activities. Talks in Vienna were postponed in June after hardline cleric Ebrahim Raisi won Iran’s presidential election.
“The release of our unjustly detained citizens is a top priority for us, and we remain interested in ensuring it as soon as possible,” Price said.
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