Iran and Armenia are due to ink an agreement on extradition of criminals, Armenian Justice Minister Hrayr Tovmasyan announced in Tehran on Sunday, Nov 11, Fars news agency reported.

"Once the agreement is signed, the necessary steps will be taken for its implementation and we hope that this agreement will yield good results for both countries," Tovmasyan said.

In relevant remarks, Iranian Deputy Justice Minister Ali Sadati said that the agreement will be the first of a kind between Iran and Armenia, adding that it envisages extradition of 12 Iranian prisoners from Armenia to continue their prison terms in Iran.

He said that the prisoners are usually found guilty for lack of knowledge about laws and regulations of the hosting countries.

Iran has about 20 of similar agreements with different states and 30 of them are waiting to be signed with more countries, the judiciary official said.