A senior Iranian judicial official says the United Arab Emirates’ cooperation in transferring 17 Iranian prisoners back to the country demonstrates the failure of Israel’s hostile diplomacy toward Tehran and its vain attempts to isolate the country in the region.

Deputy Justice Minister for Human Rights and International Affairs Askar Jalalian said on Monday that 17 Iranian nationals, including three women and 14 men, had recently been released from UAE prisons and returned to Iran.

Jalalian, who also heads Iran’s Committee for the Transfer of Convicts, added that efforts were underway to secure the release and return of other Iranian nationals currently imprisoned in the UAE.

"The UAE government's cooperation with Iran regarding 17 Iranian prisoners is indicative of the failure of the Zionist regime's hostile diplomacy against Iran in the region, which, in its own view, is working to isolate Iran,” he emphasized.

He reiterated that the Emirati government’s cooperation also demonstrates the good neighborliness between Iran and the UAE, as well as their recognition of the need to preserve this principle.

Jalalian noted that the release and transfer of the 17 Iranians were the result of legal, political, and security synergy within the country.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran makes every effort to [support] Iranians living abroad under any circumstances and employs all its legal, political, and security capacities to assist its citizens who, for any reason, have become imprisoned in other countries,” he said.

The official noted that some other Iranians are serving sentences under UAE domestic law, adding that Tehran continues its legal, political, and security efforts to facilitate their return.

He added that Iran and the UAE have previously signed agreements on extradition and mutual legal assistance in civil and criminal matters, explaining that these agreements have entered into force.

However, he said, an agreement on the transfer of convicted prisoners has yet to be finalized.

UAE releases several Iranian prisoners following Tehran’s diplomatic, security efforts: Report

A group of Iranian prisoners who had spent years in UAE prisons have been released following sustained diplomatic and security efforts.

This came after a report said on Sunday that a group of Iranian prisoners who had spent years in United Arab Emirates prisons have been released following sustained diplomatic and security efforts by Iranian officials.

Iranian authorities have been pursuing the cases through both diplomatic and legal channels, with the latest release coming amid renewed contacts between Tehran and Persian Gulf states.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei separately expressed appreciation for cooperation on the part of UAE officials in the release of an Iranian national and voiced hope that other Iranians held in the country would also be freed.

The latest development follows a separate release in July, when 55 Iranian fishermen who were detained by the UAE Coast Guard in recent months were freed, according to Iran’s embassy in Abu Dhabi.