We're willing to talk to anybody who's willing to respect Iran

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the Iranian government is ready to negotiate with anybody who's willing to respect Iran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif talked about his offer of a prisoner swap with the U.S. during an interview with CBS News.With an interview wiith "Face the Nation" moderator Margaret Brennan he spoke on how the mechanics of such an exchange would work. Zarif said the U.S. first "needs to prove that it's serious" before the two countries can begin negotiations. 

Zarif said a number of Iranians are in jail in the U.S. for violating sanctions, and that the U.S. government already knows which prisoners Iran would like in return for American prisoners in Iran being released. He added the caveat that as foreign minister he was only permitted to broker a swap of prisoners and could not simply release any of them as a sign of good faith.

"I am responsible for foreign policy. I'm not responsible for interfering in court's decisions. I can intervene when there is an exchange, an offer of exchange. I cannot intervene as foreign minister," Zarif said.

"I can intervene as a private individual on humanitarian basis, and I do, I do," he said. "But as foreign minister, I do not have a standing in any Iranian court unless I can engage in an exchange with Iranians who are wrongfully, in our view, detained either inside the United States or elsewhere."

"We're willing to talk to anybody who's willing to respect Iran and deal with this issue. We don't have anything against Ambassador O'Brien, but we will not deal with the hostage negotiator unless they want us to appoint somebody as our hostage negotiator so that they discuss about Iranian hostages in U.S. jail," Zarif said.

"These are cases where we believe our prisoners are in prison on bogus charges. The United States believes that they are in prison in Iran on bogus charges," Zarif said. He also spoke ominously of the increasing tension between the U.S. and Iran. In recent weeks, the Trump administration designated Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organization, or "FTO."

That is the first time that the U.S. has ever named part of another government as an FTO, and it is designed to squeeze one of Iran's most powerful military institutions which has deep influence over its economy. Additionally, the U.S. has threatened to sanction other countries who purchase Iranian oil starting on May 2. Iran has threatened to retaliate.

"I have enough responsibility on my shoulders to prevent a war, to try to circumvent U.S. attempts to prevent Iran from engaging in what is legally ours, and that is normal economic relations. So, I do this as a part of my job, as foreign minister to exchange people without attribution of guilt. Simply to make it possible for people to go back home," Zarif said.

Source:CBS