Ministry denies Iranian prisoners were ‘swapped’

Ministry denies Iranian prisoners were ‘swapped’

Plane that flew men to Iran originated in Australia, home of academic jailed in Tehran

The Foreign Ministry says two Iranian prisoners were sent back to their home country this week to serve out their sentences under a bilateral agreement — and it had nothing to do with Tehran’s release of a British-Australian academic.

Ministry spokesman Tanee Sangrat said the transfer to Iran of Masoud Sedaghatzadeh and Saeid Moradi, who were jailed for the Sukhumvit 71 bombing in February 2012, was not a prisoner swap.

He said another Iranian man, Mohammad Khazaei, who was convicted in the same case, had also been released after completing his sentence.

However, the Australian broadcaster ABC reported that the Iranians were picked up in Bangkok by an Airbus A319 that had flown…