Todd Bishop
The United States and Iran are at a time of tension, agreeing to exchange prisoners with each other. Wang Xiyue, a Chinese-American scholar who was imprisoned for three years in Iran, was released. Iranian professor Massoud Soleimani, who was imprisoned by the United States for breach of sanctions, was also free.
The exchange of prisoners between the United States and Iran is indeed rare, but it is not unexpected. Earlier during the UN General Assembly in New York in September, Iranian President Rokney stated that he was open to the exchange of prisoners. At that time, it was rumored that the White House was negotiating with Iran to release Wang Xiyue. After more than two months of hard work, he was finally released.
Both the United States and Iran need attitude changes
U.S. President Trump is quite satisfied with Iran ’s willingness to exchange prisoners. He said on his personal Twitter that he could “make a deal” with Iran. As he often said, “Make a deal”, Trump still hopes Negotiating with Iran.
From the US standpoint, Iran’s softening may be due to the uncertain situation in the country. Demonstrations in Iran due to rising oil prices have killed more than 200 people in November. The violent crackdown by the Iranian government has exposed it to internal and external criticism, so that Iran has to change its attitude slightly at this time.
The highest spiritual leader, Khamenei, has always criticized demonstrators as foreign instigators, thugs and saboteurs. But on the 4th, he suddenly said that the court should show “Islamic kindness” to demonstrators who are simply dissatisfied with oil prices.
The door to dialogue between the two parties is still open
From the Iranian perspective, the United States also suffers from domestic political influence. Trump is facing impeachment by the Democratic Party. Although the success rate of impeachment is very low, “Tong Umen” has damaged Trump’s image and affected his election in the 2020 election.
Trump has repeatedly stated when he took office that seeking to release U.S. prisoners from other countries is a government priority. Coupled with the need for Trump to reach agreements with countries such as Iran to prove his diplomatic strength, exchanging prisoners would be a good start.
It is still too early to say that US-Iran relations have improved. Reuters quoted U.S. officials as saying that this time the United States and Iran exchange prisoners, the United States has not compromised, including sanctions against Iran. Iran continues to demand that the United States must abandon sanctions before it is willing to negotiate with the United States. What can be confirmed at present is that the door for dialogue between the two sides is still open, and the two sides can start consultations on substantive issues, and the situation in the United States and Iran may be eased.
