5 February 2010 / REUTERS, WASHINHGTON
There are no talks between the United States and Iran on a prisoner exchange, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday, one day after Iran raised the possibility of a swap.
“There are no negotiations taking place between the United States and Iran. We believe they should unilaterally release our detained citizens,” Clinton said after a meeting with Bahrain’s foreign minister. Clinton’s comments came one day after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said three US citizens detained in Iran and charged with spying could be swapped with Iranians held in the United States. Clinton said it was “hard to know” what Ahmadinejad’s comments meant. She reiterated that if Iran had any questions about citizens in US custody, it could place a query through the Pakistani Embassy, which represents Tehran’s interests in Washington in the absence of formal diplomatic ties. She again appealed to Tehran to release the three Americans, who US officials have said were arrested after they apparently strayed across the border from Iraq. “We believe they are being unjustly detained and they should be released without further delay,” Clinton said. Sate Department spokesman P.J. Crowley, speaking earlier, said the cases of the three US hikers were not comparable to those of Iranians accused or convicted of crimes.
