Iran slams U.S. "barbaric" treatment of detained Iranian

TEHRAN, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- One of the Iranian nationals detained by the United States is "held under dire humanitarian conditions" as his access to emergency medical care is denied, a top Iranian official said on Thursday.

Kazem Gharibabadi, the Iranian Judiciary chief's deputy for international affairs and secretary of the country's High Council for Human Rights, made the remarks in a tweet.

Messrs Sarhangpour, the Iranian national, was also forced to pay the rent for the apartment in which he is placed under arrest, Gharibabadi said, calling the U.S. behavior "barbaric."

He slammed the United States for having arrested "tens of innocent Iranians" under the pretext of circumventing its "cruel and inhumane" sanctions, urging Washington to free "all guiltless" Iranian nationals immediately.

Gharibabadi's tweet came a few hours after Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said on Wednesday Iran was ready for "immediate" implementation of the existing agreement with the U.S. on prisoners' swaps.

On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Tehran to release Iranian-American nationals imprisoned in the country. Iran says these people have been jailed for espionage.

In February, the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced that the exchange of prisoners with the United States had been discussed on the sidelines of nuclear talks in Vienna.