TEHRAN - Iran’s Foreign
Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian said on Tuesday that any potential prisoner exchange process should not be tied to the ongoing talks in Vienna that are looking into the likelihood of removal of the U.S.’s oppressive sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
“Iran considers the issue of the prisoners to be [an issue that lies] in the humanitarian category. We are not inclined for this issue to be tied to the nuclear talks,” Amir-Abdollahian said.
The top diplomat made the remarks during a telephone conversation with the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Amir-Abdollahian rated as “positive” talks between Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Baqeri-Kani and the European Union’s deputy foreign policy chief Enrique Mora, who was paying a visit to Tehran to discuss, among other things, the future of the Vienna talks.
Baqeri-Kani and Mora would keep up their negotiations in Brussels the next week, the foreign minister said, and noted that Iran welcomed whatever talks that would bring along tangible results for the Islamic Republic.
In 2018, the United States left the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a historic nuclear accord that had been clinched between the Islamic Republic and world countries three years earlier.
Amir-Abdollahian underscored that should the Western allies live up to their JCPOA commitments, Iran too would reverse a set of nuclear countermeasures that it has been taking in retaliation for their refusal to meet their obligations.
He also extended an invitation to Guterres to pay a visit to the Islamic Republic.

up against ignorance, imperialism, and terrorist groups such as Daesh.
Raisi said U.S. officials, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, had admitted to Washington’s key role in the creation of Daesh.
“Conspiracies are now unfolding in Lebanon and Afghanistan, as was the case previously in Iraq and Syria. It is very important to notice such plots, and the enlightenment of Muslim scholars will protect the youth against them,” he noted.
He called for closer scientific, cultural and media cooperation among Muslim countries.
Raisi also reiterated Iran’s preparedness to help boost efforts to eradicate corruption, poverty, terrorism, insecurity and instability in the Islamic world.
“We seek to ensure stability in Islamic countries, as opposed to the enemy, which tries to create instability. We believe unity is the strategy that the Islamic community should adopt, but the enemy’s strategy is to sow discord,” he said.
The 35th International Conference on Islamic Unity kicked off in Tehran on Tuesday, and hundreds of Muslim scholars and thinkers from around the world are participating in the international event.
Several dozen guests are in the Iranian capital in person, while the rest are attending the six-day conference virtually.
Forging peace and unity in the Muslim world and refraining from discord and conflict are the main themes. Fighting extremism and terrorism and promoting respect among different schools of thought are some of the topics that will be highlighted.
The idea of holding the annual event was initiated by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.