Middle East Desk
Report
TEHRAN: Iran is ready for prisoners swap with the United States “without preconditions,” Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiee announced here on Sunday.
“We are ready to exchange Iranian and American prisoners, and we are ready to discuss it with the Americans,” Rabiee was quoted as saying by official IRNA news agency.
The Iranian spokesman urged the United States to respond to Iran’s call as, he said, “we are worried about the health condition of Iranians in the U.S. jails.”
The remarks by the Iranian official followed a December exchange of two prisoners between Tehran and Washington, a detained American on spying charges for an imprisoned Iranian researcher for violating sanctions on Iran.Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has plans to launch satellites into a geosynchronous equatorial orbit (GEO) 36,000 km above the earth, IRGC’s Aerospace Force Space Division announced on Sunday. Brigadier General Ali Jafarabadi pointed to the IRGC’s recent “successful” launch of the homegrown Noor 1 satellite into space, saying that it plans to reach higher orbits in coming years, according to Tasnim news agency. The GEO is very significant and strategic, since the telecommunication and television satellites are placed in this orbit, Jafarabadi was quoted as saying.
The launch of satellite into the geosynchronous equatorial orbit has economic benefits for the country and would also protect Iran’s space assets, he added.
