Iran Suggests Prisoner Swap With US After Sanctions End

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani proposed a prisoner exchange with the US which would see Americans jailed in Iran freed in exchange for Iranian nationals jailed in the US in connection with Iran's nuclear program.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said his country would consider a prisoner exchange which would see Americans jailed in Iran freed in exchange for Iranian nationals jailed in the US in connection with Iran's nuclear program, in an interview with CNN.

Iran seeks the freedom of 19 Iranian nationals jailed in the US on charges of anti-Iran sanctions. The most famous US citizen imprisoned in Iran is the Washington Post's Tehran bureau chief Jason Rezaian. Others include Christian pastor Saeed Abedini and former US Marine and alleged CIA operative Amir Hekmati.

"If the Americans take the appropriate steps and set them free, certainly the right environment will be open and the right circumstances will be created for us to do everything within our power and our purview to bring about the swiftest freedom for the Americans held in Iran as well," Rouhan told CNN through an interpreter.

The US has previously engaged in prisoner exchanges with Iran, including the three US nationals arrested for crossing into Iran from Iraq in 2009.

Iran has previously called for the release of its citizens jailed in the US, as well as consular access to them.