UNITED NATIONS, September 18. /TASS/. Communication between the United States and Iran on the nuclear deal may take place on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York as early as this week, a UN source told TASS on Monday.

"A large American delegation is taking part in the General Assembly. An Iranian delegation led by President Ebrahim Raisi is to arrive. So, they have a venue and opportunity for contacts. The sides have used it before," the source said, adding that talks at this point may be held without any announcement.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani said earlier that Iran and the United States planned to exchange prisoners on September 18. According to the spokesman, the sides plan to release five prisoners each. Two of the released Iranians will return home, two - will stay in the United States, and the other one will go to a third country. In exchange, Tehran will release five US nationals serving prison terms in Iran. Iran’s Central Bank has confirmed that it received around $6 million under the prisoner swap deal.

The US mass media consider this exchange as a precursor for resuming talks on the Iran nuclear deal, which were frozen a year ago.