Shafaq News- Tehran
Iran plans to transfer another 159 nationals from Iraqi prisons on Sept. 20 to serve the remainder of their sentences at home, Foreign Ministry Consular Affairs Director-General Mojtaba Shasti Karimi said.
In remarks carried by Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency on Wednesday, Karimi indicated that the group would enter Iran through the Shalamcheh land border crossing before being placed in Iranian prisons.
The planned repatriation follows the return of 48 Iranian inmates through the Mehran crossing on Tuesday, according to Karimi.
Iran’s Justice Ministry, however, put Tuesday’s figure at 49, including four women. Ministry official Askar Jalalian said most had been detained on charges involving drugs, medical pills, other prohibited substances, or carrying packages for others.
Tehran and Baghdad have conducted several such exchanges under a 2014 bilateral agreement allowing convicted nationals to complete their terms in their home countries. The most recent prior handover took place on March 29, 2026, when 43 Iranians returned from Iraq.