The United States has reportedly denied media reports of a potential prisoner exchange involving Iranian detainees as part of efforts to secure the release of Israeli-Russian academic Elizabeth Tsurkov, who was kidnapped in Baghdad in March 2023.
A spokesperson for the US State Department told Shafaq News Iraqi outlet, "While discussions are always ongoing, reports of this possible trade are categorically false."
The New Arab contacted the State Department for further comment, but had not received a response by the time of publication.
Senior Iraqi security officials told AFP on Saturday that Baghdad was working on a deal to free Tsurkov in exchange for the release of an Iranian man jailed in Iraq for the murder of an American civilian. The officials, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said the proposal hinges on approval from Washington.
"The Americans have not yet agreed to one of the conditions, which is the release of the Iranian who is being held for killing an American citizen," one official said.
Tsurkov, a doctoral student at Princeton University, was abducted in March 2023 while conducting field research in Iraq. No group has claimed responsibility for her disappearance, but Israeli authorities have accused Kataib Hezbollah, a powerful Iran-aligned armed faction in Iraq, of holding her. The group has denied involvement.
Iraq has attempted to mediate a resolution to the crisis, with one security source saying progress "depends on the Americans' approval".
The Iranian man at the centre of the reported deal, along with four Iraqis, was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of American aid worker Stephen Troell, who was shot dead in Baghdad in November 2022. In December 2023, the US Justice Department unsealed charges against Mohammad Reza Nouri, an alleged officer in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), accusing him of orchestrating the killing.
Tsurkov is believed to have entered Iraq using her Russian passport as part of her academic research. Security and diplomatic sources quoted by AFP have suggested she may have been transferred to Iran, though this remains unconfirmed.
In November last year, Iraq's Al Rabiaa TV broadcast the first footage of Tsurkov since her abduction. AFP was unable to verify the video independently or determine whether she was speaking under duress.
In February, Adam Boehler, the US hostage envoy, warned that the Iraqi government would be seen as complicit in Tsurkov’s continued detention if she was not released.
The Iraqi Foreign Minister, Fuad Hussein, has confirmed that Tsurkov is still alive and stated that the government is working on facilitating her release. Tsurkov, a doctoral student at Princeton University, was kidnapped after leaving a restaurant in Baghdad, where she had been meeting journalists.