U.S. denies Iran’s claim of prisoner deal

A report by Iranian state-run television claimed Iran would release American and British prisoners in exchange for $7 billion. U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price immediately denied that report Sunday. The issue is sensitive as the Biden administration looks to restart nuclear talks.

How is that going? National security adviser Jake Sullivan said U.S. diplomats are still working to reestablish direct nuclear negotiations with Iran, as “there is still a fair distance to travel to close the remaining gaps.” Those gaps include what sanctions the United States and other countries will roll back and what nuclear restrictions Iran will accept.

Officials from China, Russia, and several European countries expressed cautious optimism over the weekend after the latest round of talks with Iranian officials in Vienna. Russia’s top representative in the talks said the two sides made “indisputable progress.”

Dig Deeper: Read Onize Ohikere’s report in World Tour on an Iranian-British woman imprisoned in Iran.