TEHRAN — A news website has cited an unnamed Iranian official as saying that the Islamic Republic has abandoned efforts for prisoner swap with the United States, saying the decision followed Washington's "breaches" against efforts to release the detainees.

Tehran and Joe Biden's administration have been communicating on prisoner exchanges aimed at securing the release of Iranians held in U.S. jails and other countries over allegations of violating American sanctions, and Americans jailed in Iran for spying.

With the continuing Biden administration’s breaches, there is “no incentive on Iran's part to continue this process and therefore the exchange issue in its current form will be completely removed from agenda," the official told Nour News, which is close to Iran's top national security body.

Last month, Iran said a prisoner swap deal had been agreed, though Washington had denied it.

Iran has arrested some dual nationals, including several Iranian-Americans, in recent years, on espionage charges.

SA/PA