Prisoner exchange
Britain's Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, right, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken attend a joint press conference at Downing Street in London, Monday, May 3, 2021, during the G7 foreign ministers meeting. (Ben Stansall/Pool Photo via AP)
US and UK reject reports of imminent prisoner deal with Iran

By Pan Pylas May. 03, 2021 06:52 AM EDT

FILE - In this Monday March 8, 2021 file photo, Richard Ratcliffe sands with his daughter Gabriella as they hold a photo of his wife and her mother, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, during a protest outside the Iranian Embassy in London. The supporters of a British-Iranian woman detained for five years in Iran says she has returned to court on fresh charges. The development casts uncertainty over her future following her release from prison last week. (Ian West/PA via AP, File)
British-Iranian woman back in court after 5 years in prison

By Isabel Debre Mar. 14, 2021 07:48 AM EDT

FILE - In this March 31, 2019 file photo, Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of British charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who is being held in Iran poses for a photo with a giant Mother's Day card and flowers left on the steps of the Iranian Embassy, in Knightsbridge, London. The lawyer of Zaghari-Ratcliffe, an Iranian-British national detained in Iran on widely refuted spying charges has told The Associated Press that she has finished her five-year sentence, although it remains unclear whether she can leave the country. (Dominic Lipinski/PA via AP, File)
British-Iranian woman ends 5-year sentence, but not free yet

By Amir Vahdat And Isabel Debre Mar. 07, 2021 07:55 AM EST

FILE - In this Aug. 12, 2018 file photo released by the Union for the Republic and Democracy party shows then opposition Presidential candidate Soumaila Cisse casting his ballot during the presidential second round election in Niafunke, Mali. Malian opposition leader Soumaila Cissé, who was held hostage for six months by jihadists and considered a leading contender for 2022 elections, has died in Paris, his family said Friday. (Boubacar Sada Sissoko/Union for the Republic and Democracy via AP, File)
Mali opposition leader Cissé dies after contracting COVID-19

By Baba Ahmed Dec. 25, 2020 08:20 AM EST

Israelis prepare to fly to Dubai at the Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020. The Israeli government is urging its citizens to avoid travel to the Gulf states of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, citing threats of Iranian attacks. Thursday's travel advisory comes as Iran is threatening to attack Israeli targets following the assassination of its top nuclear scientist last Friday. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)
Israel urges citizens to avoid Gulf, cites Iran threat

By Ilan Ben Zion Dec. 04, 2020 02:32 AM EST

An Israeli man handed a flower to Emirati singer Walid Aljasim, during his visit in Jerusalem, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Israel urges citizens to avoid Gulf, cites Iran threat

By Ilan Ben Zion Dec. 03, 2020 03:28 PM EST

In this frame grab from Iranian state television video aired Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2020, British-Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert, center inside van, is seen in Tehran, Iran. Iran has freed Moore-Gilbert, who has been detained in Iran for more than two years, in exchange for three Iranians held abroad, state TV reported Wednesday. (Iranian State Television via AP)
Academic detained in Iran for 2 years returns to Australia

Nov. 27, 2020 03:24 AM EST

FILE - In this Dec. 21, 2012, file photo, Saeid Moradi, an Iranian suspect bomber, on a wheelchair is helped by a Thai prisoner to arrive for his trial hearing at criminal court in Bangkok, Thailand. Thai officials say they have approved the transfer back to Tehran of three Iranians who were involved in a botched 2012 bomb plot. (AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong, File)
Thailand approves transfer of 3 Iranians as Australian freed

By Tassanee Vejpongsa And Nick Perry Nov. 26, 2020 02:02 AM EST

Lawyer: Iran grants furlough to French-Iranian researcher

By Nasser Karimi Oct. 04, 2020 04:14 PM EDT
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran has indefinitely furloughed a prominent researcher with dual French-Iranian citizenship who was imprisoned on security charges, her...

In this March 17, 2020 file photo, released by the Free Nazanin Campaign, a photo of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian dual national detained in Iran. Iran's state TV says British-Iranian dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe faces a new charge. The Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020 report cites an unnamed official and did not elaborate. Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been released from prison due to the coronavirus pandemic after serving nearly all of her five-year sentence. She was arrested during a holiday with her toddler daughter in April 2016. (Free Nazanin Campaign via AP)
Iranian TV: British Iranian dual national faces new charge

By Nasser Karimi Sep. 08, 2020 07:53 AM EDT

FILE - In this Feb. 29, 2020 file photo, U.S. peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, left, and Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban group's top political leader sign a peace agreement between Taliban and U.S. officials in Doha, Qatar. Washington's annual terrorism report says Pakistan is doing too little to counter terrorist groups particularly those taking aim at enemy India as well as the dreaded Haqqani network operating in Afghanistan. Islamabad bristled at the criticism saying it has been relentless in its assistance to Washington as it be negotiated for more than a year with the Taliban for a peace deal signed on Feb. 29(AP Photo/Hussein Sayed,file)
US envoy forges ahead with troubled Taliban peace deal

By Kathy Gannon Jul. 04, 2020 06:17 AM EDT

Editorial Roundup: US

By The Associated Press Jul. 01, 2020 03:09 PM EDT
Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad: ___ June 30 The Wall Street...

FILE - In this Aug. 19, 2019, file photo, a man waves an Afghan national flag during Independence Day celebrations in Kabul, Afghanistan. Washington’s watchdog warns, Thursday, June 25, 2020, that “systemic” corruption within the Afghan government is weakening its bargaining position in future peace negotiations with the Taliban, even as the insurgent group's political spokesman says the group was ready with its agenda for talks. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File)
US watchdog: Afghan gov't weakened ahead of Taliban talks

By Kathy Gannon Jun. 25, 2020 01:40 PM EDT

Citing virus, Iran says it's ready for prisoner swap with US

By Nasser Karimi May. 10, 2020 05:26 AM EDT
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran says it is ready for unconditional prisoner swap talks with the United States because of fears that the coronavirus could put the...

FILE - In this March 9, 2020, file photo, Washington's peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad attends the inauguration ceremony for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan. Khalilzad said May 7 that he called for the release of Mark R. Frerichs, ab American citizen captured by Taliban-linked militants in discussions with Taliban leadership as continued violence threatens to scuttle a peace deal to end America’s longest-running war. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File)
Afghanistan envoy calls for American contractor release

By James Laporta May. 07, 2020 10:57 PM EDT

Mark Frerichs, a contractor from Illinois, poses in Iraq in this undated photo obtained from Twitter that he would include with his resume when job hunting. Frerichs was abducted in Afghanistan in January 2020. Early efforts to locate him have been shrouded in mystery and his disappearance has been the subject of minimal public discussion by the U.S. government. The Associated Press has learned that in the days following Frerichs’ capture, Navy commandos raided a village and detained suspected members of the Taliban-linked Haqqani network while the U.S. intelligence community tried to track the cellphones of Frerich and his captors. (Twitter via AP)
SEALs tried to locate US citizen taken by Afghan militants

By James Laporta And Eric Tucker Apr. 30, 2020 12:07 AM EDT

Afghan special forces stand guard near the site of a suicide bomber attack on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, April 29, 2020. A suicide bomber on Wednesday targeted a base belonging to Afghan special forces on the southern outskirts of the capital, Kabul, officials said. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
Afghan officials: Suicide bomber kills 3 civilians in Kabul

By Rahim Faiez Apr. 29, 2020 03:57 AM EDT

Muslim men read the Quran during the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan at a mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, April 24, 2020. Millions of Muslims have started the holiest month on the Islamic calendar under the coronavirus lockdown or strict social restrictions, deepening their anxiety over the disease. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
US calls on Afghans to set aside disputes, focus on virus

By Kathy Gannon Apr. 26, 2020 05:20 AM EDT

FILE - In this Wednesday, April 8, 2020, file photo, an Afghan National Army soldier stands guard at a checkpoint near the Bagram base north of Kabul, Afghanistan. The Taliban confirmed Sunday, April 12, 2020 that the group will release 20 Afghan government prisoners they were kept in their prisons. Suhial Shaheen, spokesman for the Taliban’s political office said in a tweet that the prisoners will be handed over to International Committee of the Red Cross ICRC in southern Kandahar province. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File)
Afghan Taliban confirms release of 1st government prisoners

By Rahim Faiez Apr. 12, 2020 05:58 AM EDT