Iran Says Prisoner Exchange Process with US Will Take Up to Two Months

Iran's and US' flags are seen printed on paper in this illustration taken January 27, 2022. (Reuters)
Iran's and US' flags are seen printed on paper in this illustration taken January 27, 2022. (Reuters)
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Iran Says Prisoner Exchange Process with US Will Take Up to Two Months

Iran's and US' flags are seen printed on paper in this illustration taken January 27, 2022. (Reuters)
Iran's and US' flags are seen printed on paper in this illustration taken January 27, 2022. (Reuters)

The process of releasing US prisoners held in Iran will take up to two months, Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said on Monday during a press conference. 

"A specific time frame has been announced by relevant authorities, and it will take a maximum of two months for this process to take place," Kanaani said. 

Earlier this month, Tehran and Washington reached an agreement whereby five US citizens held in Iran would be freed while $6 billion of Iranian assets frozen in South Korea would be released. 

South Korean media reported on Monday that the assets have been transferred to Switzerland's central bank last week for exchange and transfer to Iran. 

The Swiss National Bank plans to exchange the $6 billion holdings in won for dollars and then euros in the currency market, converting about 300 billion won ($223.85 million) to 400 billion each day for next five weeks, Yonhap Infomax reported, citing an unnamed currency market source.  

An official at South Korea's finance ministry declined to confirm the report, citing the legal and diplomatic sensitivity of the matter.  

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said last week that the released assets would be used to enhance domestic production. 



Pakistan and India Conduct Annual Exchange of Lists of Nuclear Assets under Bilateral Pact

Condensation trails from the airplanes are seen in the sky in Islamabad on January 1, 2025. (AFP)
Condensation trails from the airplanes are seen in the sky in Islamabad on January 1, 2025. (AFP)
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Pakistan and India Conduct Annual Exchange of Lists of Nuclear Assets under Bilateral Pact

Condensation trails from the airplanes are seen in the sky in Islamabad on January 1, 2025. (AFP)
Condensation trails from the airplanes are seen in the sky in Islamabad on January 1, 2025. (AFP)

Pakistan and India on Wednesday exchanged lists of their nuclear assets as part of a bilateral pact that bars them from attacking each other’s nuclear facilities.

The two sides exchange such lists on the first day of January every year.

In a statement on Wednesday, Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the lists were simultaneously handed over through their respective diplomats in Islamabad and New Delhi.

The exchange is part of the Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear Installations and Facilities pact, which was signed by the two countries in December 1988. It was implemented in January 1991.

Pakistan and India have had strained relations since their independence from colonial British rule in 1947 over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. They have fought three wars, built up their armies and developed nuclear weapons.

India conducted its first nuclear test in 1974, with Pakistan carrying out its first test in 1988.