Iran top diplomat says U.S. must show goodwill gesture for direct talks

FILE PHOTO: Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian attends a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia January 20, 2022. Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS

(Reuters) -Iran is ready to swap prisoners with the United States, Iran's foreign minister said on Saturday, adding that talks to revive a 2015 nuclear deal could succeed "at the earliest possible time" if the United States makes the necessary political decisions.

Reuters reported on Thursday that a U.S.-Iranian deal is taking shape in Vienna after months of indirect talks to revive the nuclear pact. The draft text of the agreement alluded to other measures, including unfreezing billions of Iranian funds in South Korean banks and the release of Western prisoners held in Iran, Reuters reported.