Iran denies report on prisoner swap with al-Qaeda

Iran has dismissed a media report claiming that Tehran has been engaged in a prisoner swap with the terrorist al-Qaeda group, saying these allegations aim to trivialize the Islamic Republic’s efforts against terrorism.

“It is clear that such fabrications seek to distort the facts and overshadow Iran’s efforts against terrorism and extremism,” the Islamic Republic’s official news agency, IRNA, quoted an unnamed official at Iran’s Foreign Ministry as saying.

The website of the Britain-based channel Sky News carried a report on Monday claiming that Iran has allowed five influential operatives of al-Qaeda militant group to leave the country in return for the release of an Iranian diplomat held in Yemen. The report said three of the five militants were members of al-Qaeda’s ruling committee known as Shura Council.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran is fighting against terrorism and is seriously opposed to the adoption of double-standard policies and behavior against an inhuman phenomenon like terrorism,” the source said, adding that “dual policies and the use of terrorism as a means” are to blame for the survival of the scourge.