FOREIGN POLICY/IRAN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The White House secretly reached out to Iran in December to propose creating a direct channel to negotiate the release of prisoners held by each side, according to U.S. officials and people briefed about the discussions, marking the first U.S. diplomatic overture to Iran on the issue under President Donald Trump.
However, Iran didn’t respond and, despite at least three subsequent offers from Washington, so far has refused to engage with U.S. officials on the offer, according to the people briefed about the discussions. The apparent impasse leaves uncertain the fate of at least four Americans currently in Iranian detention.
The U.S. offer in December represented the first time since Mr. Trump took office that it had signaled its willingness to engage in a potential prisoner swap. For most of the year, the administration had been reviewing and toughening its Iran policy, ultimately advancing a harder line toward Tehran’s missile tests and support for militant groups in the Middle East…
The State Department didn’t comment specifically on the outreach to Iran. An official who has served as contact for families of detainees at the White House National Security Council didn’t respond to an inquiry…
Iran’s mission to the United Nations didn’t respond to an inquiry about how many Iranian dual nationals currently being held in U.S. prisons would be sought by Iran in negotiations. Iranian activists have said up to a dozen Iranians are currently jailed in the U.S. on charges related to evasion of sanctions.”
-Farnaz Fassihi and Felicia Schwartz, “U.S. Secretly Offered Iran a Channel for Talks on Prisoners,” The Wall Street Journal online, Feb. 8, 2018 05:32am