Iran: Ready for immediate prisoner swap with US

Iran has said that it is ready to swap prisoners with the United States, adding the West would be to blame if talks to revive a 2015 nuclear deal fail as Tehran is ready to reach a good agreement.

"We believe prisoner swaps is a humanitarian issue ... unrelated to the nuclear accord. We can do it immediately," Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told a panel at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday. 

"If the nuclear talks between Tehran and world powers fail in Vienna, Western powers will be responsible." 

Abdollahian said his country was "ready to achieve a good deal at the earliest possible time if the other side makes the needed political decision".

"We are very serious," he added, speaking through an interpreter.

When asked whether Tehran was ready to hold direct talks with Washington, Amirabdollahian refrained from ruling it out by saying: "We need to see tangible steps of goodwill by Washington such as freeing Iran's frozen assets abroad."

READ MORE: US, Iran can reach nuclear deal 'within days' if Tehran 'shows seriousness'

'Moment of truth'

Speaking at the same conference, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said the chances of reviving the Iran nuclear accord are dwindling and the "moment of truth" has arrived for Tehran's leadership.

"We now have the chance to reach an agreement that will allow sanctions to be lifted. But if we do not succeed very quickly, the negotiations risk failing," Scholz said.

"The Iranian leadership has a choice. Now is the moment of truth."

READ MORE: Revival of Iran nuclear deal near ‘decision point’

'Substantial progress'

A US State Department spokesperson told AFP news agency on Thursday that "substantial progress has been made in the last week".

"If Iran shows seriousness, we can and should reach an understanding on mutual return to full implementation of the JCPOA within days," the spokesperson said, using an acronym for the 2015 deal.

The 2015 Iran nuclear agreement had offered Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme, but the US unilaterally withdrew in 2018 under then-president Donald Trump and reimposed heavy economic sanctions.

This in turn prompted Iran to start ramping up its nuclear activities.

The outline of a new deal appears to be on the table in talks which have been held in Vienna since late November between signatories Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia – and the United States indirectly.

READ MORE: Iran: Removal of US sanctions is our 'red line' for nuclear deal revival