Iran's Zarif Says `Respect' From Trump Could Yield Prisoner Swap

(Bloomberg) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif suggested a show of respect from President Donald Trump could help yield a prisoner swap.

“It is a possibility, certainly from a humanitarian perspective, but -- but it requires a change of attitude," Zarif told correspondent Margaret Brennan in an interview with CBS News’s “Face the Nation” that will air in full on Sunday.

Zarif added it would also require “a change of language” from Trump, according to a partial transcript provided by the network.

Trump has long taken a hawkish view on Iran, blasting the nuclear agreement struck by President Barack Obama and Tehran’s leadership on a number of issues.

Zarif was asked about American prisoners being held in Iran, and whether he’d be willing to sit down with the Trump administration to talk about them.

“It is important, as I said, for the administration to show the ability to engage in a respectful discourse,” he said. “Before you make demands, the United States needs to learn how to treat other sovereign nations.”

Zarif said that means showing “respect” toward Iran, including not talking about “this illusion about regime change.”

In an earlier excerpt released by CBS, Zarif said Iran was “ready” to restart its nuclear program if Trump resumes sanctions and nixes the 2015 multilateral accord.

Trump has set a May 12 deadline to improve or scrap the pact, which waived sanctions on Iran in exchange for curbs on the country’s nuclear activities. He’s called it the “worst deal ever.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Steven T. Dennis in Washington at sdennis17@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Kevin Whitelaw at kwhitelaw@bloomberg.net, Ros Krasny, Kenneth Pringle

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