US-Iran prisoner swap goes through

A Chinese-American researcher was released by Tehran on Thursday, hours after an Iranian stem cell expert was returned home.  Xiyue Wang was arrested in Iran in 2016 accused of “collaborating with foreign governments.” Massoud Soleimani was detained at Chicago airport last year accused of violating trade sanctions by trying to export biological material to Iran. This latest swap of prisoners between the two governments indicates that while relations remain strained, communication continues at some level. Both governments thanked Switzerland for acting as intermediary in the trade. Hours later, President Donald Trump tweeted: “Thank you Iran on a very fair negotiation. See, we can make a deal together!” Iran’s FM Javad Zarif’s message: “Glad that Professor Massoud Soleimani and Mr Xiyue Wang will be joining their families shortly.”