Iran on March 6 expressed its readiness for a long-awaited prisoner swap with Belgium, days after the Belgian Constitutional Court green-lighted such a move. After the decision "we can now say that the way to implement the agreement has been opened, and the Islamic Republic of Iran certainly welcomes this change," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said. The move would see Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele -- jailed in Iran for 40 years for charges including spying -- swapped for Iranian official Assadollah Assadi, who was convicted in Belgium for masterminding a plot to blow up a 2018 opposition event outside Paris.
Iran Says It's Ready For A Prisoner Swap With Belgium
Iranian opposition activists protest with poster depicting Iranian official Asadollah Assadi in Brussels in 2018.