DUBAI - The United States and Iran swapped
prisoners - a Chinese-American detained for three years on
spying charges and an imprisoned Iranian - on Saturday in a rare
act of cooperation between two longtime foes whose ties have
worsened since President Donald Trump took office.
Trump said Chinese-American Xiyue Wang was returning to the
United States. An Iranian official said that Iranian Massoud
Soleimani had been freed from detention in the United States.
Switzerland facilitated the swap and Iranian state news
agency IRNA said Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif welcomed
Soleimani in Zurich, where it said the swap took place. It said
Soleimani was expected to return to Iran in the coming hours.
In a statement issued by the White House, Trump made no
mention of the freeing of Soleimani but thanked the Swiss
government for its help in negotiating Wang's release.
"Freeing Americans held captive is of vital importance to my
Administration, and we will continue to work hard to bring home
all our citizens wrongfully held captive overseas," he said.
Zarif said earlier the prisoner swap was imminent. Later he
posted pictures on Twitter of himself with Soleimani talking on
board an Iranian plane.
"Glad that Professor Massoud Soleimani and Mr. Xiyue Wang
will be joining their families shortly. Many thanks to all
engaged, particularly the Swiss government," Zarif tweeted.
IRNA reported that Wang was released based on "Islamic
clemency".
Switzerland represents U.S. diplomatic interests in Iran,
since Washington and Tehran cut diplomatic ties shortly after
the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran.
A U.S. official told the Associated Press that Brian Hook,
the U.S. special representative for Iran, accompanied Soleimani
to Switzerland to make the exchange and Hook and Wang were now
"en route to Landstuhl in Germany where Wang will be examined by
doctors".
It said Wang was expected to stay in Germany for several
days. Landstuhl is home to an American military medical centre.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a tweet that he
was "pleased that the Iranian government has been constructive
in this matter". He added "we will not rest until we bring every
American detained in Iran and around the world back home".
'THREE LONG YEARS'
Wang, a U.S. citizen and Princeton University graduate
student, was conducting dissertation research in Iran in 2016
when he was detained and accused by Iran of "spying under the
cover of research," an allegation his family and the university
deny.
He was subsequently convicted on espionage charges and
sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2017.
Hua Qu, Wang's wife, welcomed her husband's release.
"Our family is complete once again. Our son Shaofan and I
have waited three long years for this day and it’s hard to
express in words how excited we are to be reunited with Xiyue,"
she said in a statement.
"We are thankful to everyone who helped make this happen."
Soleimani, a stem cell expert, was arrested at Chicago
airport in October 2018 for allegedly attempting to export
biological materials to Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions on
Iran over its nuclear programme.
Washington has demanded that Iran release the Americans it
is holding, including father and son Siamak and Baquer Namazi;
Michael R. White, a Navy veteran imprisoned last year, and
Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent missing since 2007.
Several dozen Iranians are being held in U.S. prisons, many
of them for breaking sanctions.
Tensions have heightened between Iran and the United States
since Trump last year pulled Washington out of a 2015 nuclear
deal between Iran and six major powers and reimposed sanctions
that have crippled Tehran's economy.
In return, Iran has gradually scaled back its commitments to
the agreement.