The Financial Times revealed that the US special envoy for Iranian affairs, Robert Malley, met in New York several times in recent days, Iran’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Saeed Iravani.
The Financial Times quoted diplomats and analysts as saying that Malley met several times with Iravani, who was a senior official in the Supreme National Security Council before he was sent to New York in September.
The Financial Times added that It’s believed that these talks are the first direct contact between US and Iranian officials since former US President Donald Trump sparked the crisis in 2018 by withdrawing from the nuclear agreement that Tehran signed with world powers, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
It also quoted a person close to the US administration as saying that the talks focused primarily on the possibility of exchanging prisoners with Iran, as Tehran is holding at least three Iranian American citizens.
A successful exchange of prisoners in the United States could improve the environment for any nuclear talks.
