Iran says agreement reached with U.S. on prisoner exchange; Washington denies

TEHRAN, March 12 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian foreign minister said on Sunday Tehran and Washington have reached an agreement on the exchange of prisoners over the past few days, while Washington rejected the comment, according to media reports.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in a live televised interview, saying if everything goes on well on the side of the Americans, the prisoner swap will be done in the coming days, according to Iran's official news agency IRNA.

He added Iran views the case as an entirely humanitarian issue, noting that the two sides indirectly signed a deal in March 2022 to this end, the ground for the implementation of which has become prepared.

"We maintain that everything (to this end) is at present ready. The American side is ensuring its final technical coordination and arrangements in this regard," he said.

Speaking to The Associated Press later in the day, U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price, however, called the Iranian foreign minister's comments "another especially cruel lie that only adds to the suffering of their families."