WASHINGTON – The United States (US) and Iran each freed a prisoner on Saturday in a rare act of cooperation between two longtime foes whose ties have worsened since US President Donald Trump took office.
Iran released Xiyue Wang, a US citizen who had been held for three years on spying charges, while the US freed Iranian Massoud Soleimani. He had been facing charges of violating US sanctions against Tehran.
Switzerland facilitated the swap. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met Soleimani in Zurich, state news agency IRNA said. Soleimani, who then flew to Iran, was accompanied to Switzerland by Brian Hook, the US special representative for Iran, according to a US official.
The releases were the result of three or four weeks of intensive negotiations.
Switzerland represents US diplomatic interests in Iran, since Washington and Tehran cut diplomatic ties shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.(Reuters)
