Belgium denies prisoner exchange for jailed Iranian diplomat.

Belgium denies reaching a deal with Iran for a prisoner swap that would free jailed Iranian diplomat Asadollah Assadi in exchange for Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele. Iran's judiciary spokesperson had claimed that an exchange would be done soon, but Belgium's Justice minister Vincent Van Quickenborne called it a false message from a rogue state that specializes in making false statements. Assadi was jailed for 20 years in 2021 over a foiled bomb plot targeting an Iranian opposition group in Paris, while Vandecasteele was arrested in Iran in February 2022 and sentenced to 40 years in prison and 74 lashes on several charges including spying.