IRNA � Eighteen convicted prisoners will be extradited from Iraq to Iran in the near future, said a senior Iraqi official on Saturday.

Deputy Minister of Justice Hussain al-Zuhairi, who is in charge of prisoners swap between Iraq and Iran, told Islamic Republic News Agency(IRNA) that the extradition will be done in accordance with an agreement signed between Iran and Iraq.

Iran's ambassador to Baghdad Iraj masjedi and al-Zuhairi discussed the extradition of Iranian prisoners to Tehran on Saturday.

The convicted prisoners will spend the rest of their prison sentence in Iran, the Iraqi official added.

There are a number of Iraqi prisoners in Iran who have not submitted request to be transferred to Iraq, according to the him.

He emphasized that the memorandum of understanding between Iran and Iraq on prisoners swap was based on the prisoners' personal inclination and request.