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Iran Insists Prisoner Swap Deal Was Agreed With US

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saied Khatibzadeh speaks during a press conference in Tehran on February 22, 2021 - AFP
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saied Khatibzadeh speaks during a press conference in Tehran on February 22, 2021 - AFP
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Iran Insists Prisoner Swap Deal Was Agreed With US

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saied Khatibzadeh speaks during a press conference in Tehran on February 22, 2021 - AFP
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saied Khatibzadeh speaks during a press conference in Tehran on February 22, 2021 - AFP

Iran insisted on Sunday that a prisoner swap deal has been agreed with the United States, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said, a day after Washington denied such an agreement had been reached.

"'Outrageous' = the US denying simple fact that there IS an agreed deal on the matter of the detainees. Even on how to announce it," Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a tweet, Reuters reported.

"Humanitarian swap was agreed with US & UK in Vienna-separate from JCPOA (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action)- on release of 10 prisoners on all sides. Iran is ready to proceed TODAY."

The United States on Saturday accused Tehran of an "outrageous" effort to deflect blame for the impasse in the nuclear talks and denied that any deal had been reached on a prisoner swap.

Earlier on Saturday, Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Abbas Araqchi, tweeted that the United States and Britain must stop linking a humanitarian exchange with the nuclear talks.

The talks are aimed at reviving a 2015 deal between Iran and six major powers that curbed Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for a lifting of sanctions on Iran. Washington abandoned the deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran.

Tehran and President Joe Biden's administration have been communicating on prisoner exchanges aimed at securing the release of Iranians held in U.S. jails and other countries over violations of U.S. sanctions, and of Americans jailed in Iran.

Iran has arrested dozens of dual nationals, including several Americans, in recent years, mostly on espionage charges.

Rights activists accuse the country of trying to use the detentions to win concessions from other countries, though Tehran dismisses the charge.

The sixth round of indirect talks between Tehran and Washington in Vienna adjourned on June 20. Iranian and Western officials have said that still significant gaps remain to be resolved.

Iran has said that the seventh round of the talks will not resume until Iran’s hardline president-elect, Ebrahim Raisi, takes office in early August.

'HARD LINE' AT TALKS

A hardline lawmaker said Raisi, who like Iran's top authority Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has backed the talks, will adopt "a hard line" in the Vienna talks.

"Raisi's government will not leave the Vienna talks ... But the talks will continue only if interests of the Iranian nation is secured," Mojtaba Zonnour told Iran's semi-official Mehr News Agency. "Biden is trying to keep some 517 sanctions in place."

Since 2019, Iran has breached many of the deal's limits on its nuclear programme. Tehran says its nuclear steps will only be reversed if all U.S. sanctions are lifted, including those institutions and individuals that Washington has targeted for allegedly supporting terrorism and human rights abuses.

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Jailed ex-Malaysian Leader Najib Moves Closer to House Arrest

Jailed former Malaysian leader Najib Razak moved closer to serving the rest of his sentence at home after an appeal court ruled he could use a royal decree supporting his claim. Mohd RASFAN / AFP
Jailed former Malaysian leader Najib Razak moved closer to serving the rest of his sentence at home after an appeal court ruled he could use a royal decree supporting his claim. Mohd RASFAN / AFP
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Jailed ex-Malaysian Leader Najib Moves Closer to House Arrest

Jailed former Malaysian leader Najib Razak moved closer to serving the rest of his sentence at home after an appeal court ruled he could use a royal decree supporting his claim. Mohd RASFAN / AFP
Jailed former Malaysian leader Najib Razak moved closer to serving the rest of his sentence at home after an appeal court ruled he could use a royal decree supporting his claim. Mohd RASFAN / AFP

Jailed former Malaysian leader Najib Razak moved closer on Monday to serving the rest of his sentence at home after an appeal court ruled he could use a royal decree supporting his claim.
Najib, 71, is serving a six-year jail term for corruption related to the plunder of sovereign wealth fund 1MDB and faces several other cases linked to the financial scandal that led to his defeat in the 2018 elections, AFP said.
The purported existence of an order by the former king granting him permission to serve the rest of his current sentence at home has been at the center of his arguments before the Court of Appeal.
A three-member bench ruled 2-1 to grant Najib's appeal to use the decree to argue his case before the High Court.
"Given the fact that there is no challenge (of the existence of the decree), there is no justification that the order has not been complied with," said Mohamad Firuz Jaffril, one of the three Court of Appeal judges.
The High Court ruled last year that affidavits supporting Najib's claim about the document's existence were inadmissible as evidence because they were hearsay, prompting the former premier to challenge the decision.
But new evidence submitted by Najib's lawyers showed that "the issue of hearsay can no longer stand," Firuz said.
"We are therefore minded to allow the appeal," he added.
Monday's ruling means that the case will go back to the High Court, where the decree could be introduced as evidence to bolster Najib's bid to be placed under house arrest.
'Legal victory for Najib'
Najib was tried and originally sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment in July 2020 but the sentence was later halved by a pardons board.
Legal expert Goh Cia Yee told AFP that Monday's ruling is "a legal victory for Najib insofar as he is a step closer to the enforcement of house arrest".
He suggested that it could take "only months" for the High Court to hear the case.
Najib, however, is also defending himself against graft charges tied to more than $500 million in alleged bribes and several counts of money laundering.
If convicted, Najib faces hefty fines and sentences of up to 20 years for each count of abuse of power.
Allegations that billions of dollars were pilfered from investment vehicle 1MDB and used to buy everything from a superyacht to artwork played a major role in prompting voters to oust Najib and the long-ruling United Malays National Organization party in the 2018 elections.
The 1MDB scandal sparked investigations in the United States, Switzerland and Singapore, where the funds were allegedly laundered.

Police deployed heavily around the court on Monday and erected roadblocks, but hundreds of Najib's supporters rallied outside.
Supporters -- some wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the former premier's portrait -- chanted "Free Najib!" and "Long Live Bossku!", referring to his moniker which means "my boss".