Tasnim � Iranian scientist Sirous Asgari who is behind bars at a US immigration jail will be repatriated as soon as he tests negative for the novel coronavirus, spokesperson for the Iranian administration said.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Ali Rabiee said Tehran is closely monitoring the situation surrounding the imprisoned Iranian scientist through its interests section in Washington, DC.

�... the United States must abandon immoral and inhumane behavior in this case,� Rabiee said.

He also noted that Dr. Asgari will be released from the US prison and return home if he tests negative for COVID-19.

�All Iranian inmates in the US have been imprisoned on bogus charges, and we have obtained a report that they are being held without medical care� the spokesman deplored.

Dr. Sirous Asgari, a materials science and engineering professor who spoke out in March about the unsanitary and �inhumane� conditions in detention, was placed in an isolation cell this week inside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) jail in Louisiana.

His lawyers learned on Tuesday that his COVID-19 test was positive, and in a phone call with the Guardian, Asgari had a bad cough and said he had had a fever for days.

He and his family are calling for his release to a medical facility where he can receive proper care.

�It makes sense to send me to the hospital as soon as possible. I don�t trust them at all,� the 59-year-old said on Tuesday amid repeated coughing fits. �If something happens, they are not fast responders � I prefer to leave this dirty place.�

Asgari�s story sparked international outrage after he spoke about his fears of COVID-19 spreading inside crowded Ice facilities with substandard cleaning practices and a lack of supplies. The professor, who has a history of respiratory problems, was exonerated in a US sanctions trial last year, but Ice has refused to release him or allow him to return to Iran. Iran�s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif recently called for his release, as have some US lawmakers and human rights groups.

Asgari is confined to a small room at the Winn correctional center in a Louisiana, a state hard hit by the coronavirus.

Ice informed the attorneys that Asgari�s test was positive on Tuesday, but Asgari said Ice had not yet told him the results and that he had learned of them on a call with his family and lawyers. �The nurse � always says the test results are not in,� Asgari said, noting that the medical staff checked on him twice or three times a day.

Ice told Asgari�s lawyers he would only be released to a hospital if he was struggling to breathe, the attorneys said.