Clinton says no prisoner swap with Iran, detained Americans should be freed immediately

Clinton says no prisoner swap with Iran

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is ruling out Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s suggestion that three detained American hikers in Iran should be swapped with Iranian citizens held in the United States.

Clinton said Wednesday that the hikers, along with other Americans jailed in Iran, should be released immediately on humanitarian grounds. She said there as there is no basis for their continued detention.

Clinton, speaking at the State Department, called the allegations against the hikers and at least two other Americans held in Iran unjust.

Her comments came a day after Ahmadinejad suggested in a television interview that the three American hikers be traded for Iranians that Tehran says are currently in U.S. jails.