Possibility of reaching new deal between Iran, US increased

Qatar

TEHRAN, (MNA) – Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson says that following the implementation of the recent prisoner swap between Iran and the US, the possibility of reaching a new agreement between the two sides has increased.

Touching upon the issue of Iran's peaceful nuclear program, Majed bin Mohammad Al Ansari stressed that it has been agreed that the controversial issues in Iran's nuclear case will be broken into smaller issues to make it easier to hold talks on them.

The exchange of prisoners between Tehran and Washington created a better atmosphere for reaching a complete agreement regarding the nuclear issue, he stressed.

We are waiting for positive developments in this regard in the near future, he added.

Elsewhere in his remarks, he emphasized Qatar's opposition to the spread of nuclear weapons in the Middle East, saying that such weapons should be removed from the region and those who own nuclear weapons should be disarmed. 

After two years of high-stakes negotiations, Iran and the US recently agreed to free prisoners as part of a deal that also included the release of billions of Iranian assets illegally frozen in South Korea.

The funds, owed to Iran for exports of oil and gas, had been frozen in South Korean bank accounts since 2018 after Trump's administration's withdrawal from the JCPOA.

Multilateral diplomatic efforts to revive the JCPOA have been stalled since August 2022, with Iran blaming the United States for refusing to remove the sanctions that the nuclear deal had lifted and also failing to guarantee that it will not leave the deal again.