Belgium, Iran conduct prisoner swap in Oman, freeing aid worker and diplomat convicted in bomb plot | Federal News Network

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

59% : Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq was already scheduled to visit Tehran this weekend before the announced prisoner swap.___Associated Press writers Samuel Petrequin in Brussels and Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.___Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.
56% :Oman's Foreign Ministry said that "those released were transferred from Tehran and Brussels to Muscat today, Friday, in preparation for their return to their countries."
47% :Oman has long served as an interlocutor for the West with Iran.
43% :Iran has carried out kidnappings and other plots against dissidents abroad in the past.
40% : Iran, facing Western sanctions over its rapidly advancing nuclear program, has faced protests in recent months and economic strain.
38% : DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Belgium and Iran conducted a prisoner exchange Friday in Oman, with officials saying Tehran released a Belgian aid worker in exchange for an Iranian diplomat convicted of attempting to bomb a meeting of exiles in France.
37% : Iran denied Assadi's involvement.
33% :Iran has detained a number of foreigners and dual nationals over the years, accusing them of espionage or other state security offenses and sentencing them following secretive trials in which rights groups say they have been denied due process.
32% : In January, Iran sentenced Vandecasteele to a lengthy prison term and 74 lashes after convicting him of espionage in a closed-door trial.
32% : Critics have repeatedly accused Iran of using such prisoners as bargaining chips with the West.
31% :"Olivier spent 455 days in prison in Tehran.

*Our bias meter rating uses data science including sentiment analysis, machine learning and our proprietary algorithm for determining biases in news articles. Bias scores are on a scale of -100% to 100% with higher negative scores being more liberal and higher positive scores being more conservative, and 0% being neutral. The rating is an independent analysis and is not affiliated nor sponsored by the news source or any other organization.