Iran Says U.S. Grad Student to Be Exchanged for Scientist
A detained Princeton graduate student will be exchange for an Iranian scientist held by the U.S., according to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- A Princeton scholar held for three years in Iran on widely criticized espionage charges was freed Saturday as part of a prisoner exchange that saw America release a detained Iranian scientist, a rare diplomatic breakthrough between Tehran and Washington after months of tensions.
The trade on the tarmac of a Swiss airport saw Iranian officials hand over Chinese-American graduate student Xiyue Wang for scientist Massoud Soleimani, who had faced a federal trial in Georgia over charges he violated sanctions by trying to have biological material brought to Iran.