These relations have increased day by day, despite the wishes of the enemies, and thank God, there are good interactions in the political, economic, trade, and cultural relations between the two countries added the Judiciary Chief.

Stating that the Iranian people emphasize the observance of rules and regulations, he added, “Those who ignore some rules because they are interested in pilgrimage are not doing the right thing, but it is possible to differentiate between them and those who deliberately break the law.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, Raeisi pointed to the drug-trafficking issue, saying, “Iran is at the forefront of the fight against drugs in the world. We are the victims of the drug trade, and we have many martyrs in the fight against drug-trafficking and paid a lot in this path.”

“Drugs and traffickers have their roots in the West, and the conversion of traditional narcotics into industry and trade is for those in the West, not Afghanistan or Pakistan. Today, the Islamic Republic has been repeatedly encouraged for its seriousness in the fight against drugs, and we have been serious in this area since the beginning of the victory of the Islamic Revolution,” he added.

Accordingly, Raeisi suggested that a small number of those detained for illegal entry as well as drug trafficking for personal use in Iraq be pardoned and returned to the Islamic Republic, saying, “If we can transfer the prisoners to Iran, the work of the Iraqi judiciary will be reduced and the worries and concerns of the families of these prisoners will be removed.”

He also referred to a number of Iraqi prisoners in Iran and announced Iran’s readiness to return them to Iraq.

Referring to the increasing number of Iranian pilgrims to the holy shrines, Raeisi expressed hope that with the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between Iran and Iraq, the affairs of the pilgrimage will be facilitated and become transparent, so that the people and officials will arrange the judicial and legal issues of the pilgrimage.

He called the abolition of visas between the two countries a positive step.

Raeisi also praised the chairman of the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council for pursuing the case of the assassination of resistance commanders and issuing an arrest warrant for former US President Trump as the perpetrator of this criminal assassination. “You know very well that if the Americans are not prosecuted for this crime, they will dare to commit similar crimes not only in Iraq but also in different countries.”

“The system of domination may not allow access to the main culprits by its own means, but the serious will to prosecute the perpetrator is a very important, effective, and admirable issue to prevent similar crimes,” he added.

He warned Americans that they have committed state terror in an independent sovereign state that has its own administrative and legal system, saying that by violating the sovereignty of that country, they committed an unforgivable crime.

Raeisi also announced Iran’s readiness to have the necessary cooperation with the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council and try to gather the necessary documents for the legal follow-up of the issue by forming special committees.

Chief of Iran’s Judiciary Ebrahim Raisi arrived in Iraq on Tuesday at the official invitation of Faiq Zidan, chairman of the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council.

Raeisi is slated to hold talks with a host of senior Iraqi officials to discuss bilateral ties and issues of mutual interest. He is also to follow up on the case of the assassination of General Soleimani and his companions.

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“We have already announced readiness to secure the release and return to the country of Iranian hostages (jailed) in the US,” Seyed Abbas Mousavi said.

“They (the Americans) have some prisoners in our country due to security-related crimes and their crimes are indisputable,” he said.

Mousavi referred to the goodwill efforts made by some countries, including those by the Swiss ambassador to Iran, and said Tehran has hailed the efforts from the humanitarian point of view and taken measures in this regard.

He added that if there are grounds for exchange of prisoners, Iran will use all its diplomatic capacities to secure the release of Iranians jailed in the US on baseless charges.

On Monday, Iranian scientist Majid Taheri, who had been imprisoned in the US for more than 16 months, finally returned home on Monday.

The Iranian national who was a longtime resident of the US state of Florida, spent 16 months in prison for allegedly violating US sanctions on Iran.

The development came days after another Iranian scientist Sirous Asgari, a professor of material sciences at Sharif University of Technology, also returned home.

He spent about three years in US detention on trumped-up charges of fraud and theft of information relating to his work with a university in Ohio. The case however, was dismissed by a US district judge and he managed to return to his country.

Iran has called on Washington to release all other Iranian citizens taken hostage. The country says the US must make up for the damages caused by detaining Iranian scientists.

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A couple of days ago, the United States released Massoud Soleimani, an Iranian scientist who was arrested last year by the U.S. for allegedly violating American trade sanctions against Iran. Soleimani flew along with Foreign Minister Zarif from Zurich to Tehran. He was released in a prisoner exchange through mediation efforts by Switzerland.

Iran also freed an American graduate student who had been imprisoned in Tehran for more than three years on charges of being a spy.

“After the release of Massoud Soleimani, Zarif offered on his Twitter account a form of exchange, and now, we are ready to exchange our hostages in the U.S. and US detainees as the ball is now in Washington’s court,” Seyed Abbas Mousavi said in Tabriz.

On a plan by President Hassan Rouhani to visit Japan, he said, “Japan had previously submitted some offers to de-escalate tensions (between Iran and the U.S.). We hope to gain suitable results in the president’s trip to Tokyo whose offer has been based on goodwill and hope.”

“The U.S. has always used pressure as a policy, however, we must immune ourselves against such pressures,” Mousavi added.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that President Rouhani may visit Japan on Dec. 19 for talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

‘U.S. withdrawal from the INF treaty will destabilize the globe’

Elsewhere in his remarks, Mousavi condemned the U.S. recent missile test, saying, “We express concern over the U.S. new missile test and announce that the U.S. unilateral withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty (INF) will destabilize the globe.”

On to the outcome of an election in Britain which the Conservatives won the majority, he said it is an internal affair and the Iranian Foreign Ministry has no intention to comment on it. “Other nations’ internal affairs have nothing to do with us and we evade from such interferences.”

Mousavi added, “We hope that Britain comes to a conclusion to fulfill its undertakings under the nuclear deal. We hope that the British government, regarding its current situation, along with the European Union, France, Germany, Russia, and China adhere to their commitments under the deal to pave the way to return to the JCPOA.”

Under the JCPOA – the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – Iran agreed to put limits on its nuclear activities in exchange for the termination of economic and financial sanctions.

Touching upon the tension between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, Mousavi said, “We, within the framework of international law and existing resolutions, have voiced our readiness to do our best to narrow down the tension between the two countries.”

Mousavi also lashed out at the U.S. for imposing a ban on the export of medicines to Iran, saying, “The claim that food and medicine are not among the U.S-sanctioned items is a lie. The U.S. sanctions on Iran are blatant examples of economic terrorism and crime against humanity.”

Earlier this month, Zarif said that those countries which seemingly supported the 2015 nuclear deal were, unfortunately, preventing exports of medicines for special patients in Iran.

“As the issue is necessary and important, I am telling to the Europeans another time that Iran does not expect a country which has voiced support for the JCPOA to prevent a pharmaceutical company from exporting medicines for patients suffering from special diseases,” Zarif said on the sidelines of cabinet session with a reference to his visit to Sweden.

“Wound-dressing for the children suffering from butterfly disease can’t be produced in all countries. Of course, Iran experienced good progress but it is being produced in low quantity. A few numbers of pharmaceutical companies can produce it,” the minister stated.

“A Swedish company that has been exporting it (wound-dressing for butterfly patients) to Iran, is now unable to continue its trade with us due to the U.S. sanctions and oppressive behavior. I have to remind the Europeans that it is very good that you have decided to join INTEX, but as the Americans are claiming that medicines and humanitarian services are not included in the sanctions list, you Europeans do not embark on imposing a medicine embargo on Iran,” Zarif said.

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“After getting our hostage back this week, fully ready for comprehensive prisoner swap”, the Iranian foreign minister tweeted on Monday.

However, he noted that the ball was now in the US court.

Zarif’s remarks came two days after Iran and the US exchanged prisoners as part of a swap.

Iran released Xiyue Wang, an American citizen who had been sentenced to 10 years in jail in Iran on spying charges, while the United States freed Iranian stem cell scientist Massoud Soleimani. He had been facing charges of violating US sanctions against Tehran.

Iran’s government spokesman Ali Rabiei also said Monday that Tehran was open to more prisoner swaps with Washington, while stressing that the weekend exchange was not the result of formal negotiations with the US.

US President Donald Trump thanked Iran for what he called a “very fair negotiation”.

But the Iranian government dismissed the idea that it was the result of any negotiations between the two countries, which have not had diplomatic ties since 1980, according to AFP.

“This was only exchange and… regarding exchanges we are ready to act but there are no negotiations,” spokesman Ali Rabiei said on state television.

“Negotiations or any kind of talks” can only take place “within the framework of the 5+1 and after America has refrained from sanctions and economic terrorism,” he said.

The P5+1 is the group of countries that agreed on a nuclear deal with Iran in 2015 – the five veto-wielding permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany.

The nuclear deal has been hanging by a thread since last year when Trump unilaterally withdrew from the accord and began reimposing sanctions on the Islamic republic.

The Iranian spokesman said the prisoner swap came despite a US rejection of an offer Tehran made to Washington last year for an exchange of all detainees.

A few months ago, he said, Iran had received a message from “a former US official” saying the Americans were ready to make an exchange.

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