Iran has no plans to trade Jason Rezaian, the imprisoned Washington Post correspondent, for any Iranian citizens held by the United States, a Foreign Ministry official was quoted as saying Tuesday by Iran’s private Tasnim News Agency. The assertion, by Hassan Qashqavi, deputy foreign minister for consular, parliamentary and expatriates’ affairs, was a response to what he described as news media reports about such an exchange. “There are no talks on the swap of Jason Rezaian,” he was quoted as saying.
Mr. Rezaian, 39, a dual citizen of the United States and Iran, has been jailed since July 22, 2014, on charges including espionage and hostile acts, which he has denied. The fourth and final hearing in his closed trial in a Tehran Revolutionary Court was completed on Aug. 10, and his Iranian lawyer, Leila Ahsan, has said she expects a verdict any day.
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(via NY Times)
