Tweet
Commentary Magazine
March 1 2015
Why Are American Hostages Still Held in Iran?
Michael Rubin
Since President Obama initiated high-profile, high-stakes talks with
Iran, the United States has released more than $11 billion in frozen
funds to the Islamic Republic, and that comes on top of billions of
dollars in new investment. To put just the $11 billion in perspective,
that represents more than twice the Congressional Research
Service-estimated official budget of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps (IRGC), the group responsible for killing hundreds of American
servicemen in Iraq. Now, consider that Iran's economy had shrunk
between 5.3 and 5.8 percent (depending upon which Iranian figure is
speaking) in the year before Obama began his outreach while, despite
the crash in oil prices, Iran's current growth is positive, and it's
hard not to conclude that for the Iranian leadership, Team Obama has
been a dream come true.
Given all that Iran has gained outside of the nuclear arena, what is
most perplexing is how little the United States has received. Take for
example the four American hostages which Iran now holds:
Saeed Abedini. Iran has long been hostile to Christianity. While the
Iranian city of Isfahan hosts a large Armenian community which thrives
today, the Armenian Christians settled in Isfahan only because they
were forcibly relocated there from northwestern Iran as the shah at
the time doubted their loyalty. Non-Orthodox Christians have special
difficulty in Iran. Past State Department human-rights reports, for
example, depict the disappearance and murder of priests and,
especially, evangelical Christians whose community is small but
growing in Iran. Abedini, a 34-year-old from Idaho, was arrested
during a 2012 trip to Tehran to visit family and sentenced to eight
years in prison. He is a married father of two small children.
Robert Levinson. A former FBI agent whom Iran alleges to have worked
for a CIA contractor visited Kish Island, an Iranian free-trade zone
which is visa-free, in an effort to research a cigarette smuggling
case when he was seized by Iranian intelligence in 2007. While the
Iranians have sought at times to deny responsibility or knowledge of
Levinson's case, the state-run Iranian press acknowledged Iranian
involvement. He remains the longest-held Iranian hostage. Perhaps
reflecting its role as the -de facto lobby of the Islamic Republic,
the National Iranian American Council has distinguished itself by
omitting Levinson in its calls for the release of hostages.
Amir Hekmati. A former American Marine, Hekmati was arrested in August
2011 while visiting family in Tehran. Charged with espionage, he was
initially sentenced to death, a sentence later commuted. While some
Iranians might look askance at his military service, it should be
remembered that because Iran has conscription, many male Iranian
graduate students seeking to come to the United States to continue
their education or to visit family have served in the Iranian
military. The charges were more ridiculous considering Hekmati sought
and received permission from Iranian authorities in the United States
before traveling. Hekmati had briefly launched a hunger strike which
he subsequently suspended.
Jason Rezaian. The Washington Post's Tehran bureau chief, Rezaian was
arrested on undisclosed security-related offenses on July 22, 2014,
and initially held incommunicado. On January 15, 2015, an Iranian
prosecutor announced that Rezaian would stand trial in a revolutionary
court. His case is slated to be heard by one of Iran's most notorious
hanging judges.
That three of the four men are Iranian American should be irrelevant.
Immigrants and their children do not check their citizenship at the
door when they visit Iran, even if Iranian authorities insist they
enter only on their Iranian documents. Ronald Reagan famously obsessed
over American hostages held by Iranian proxies in Lebanon. The "Tower
Commission" found that Reagan obsessively peppered his staff with
questions about their condition and the possibilities for their
release. Never has the contrast between two presidents been so great.
Obama seems more concerned with springing terrorists from Guantanamo
Bay than in freeing Americans held captive by one of the world's most
repressive regimes. And, while Secretary of State John Kerry has
reportedly condemned the Iranian detention of American citizens and
called for their release, Obama and Kerry's willingness to continue
business as usual in negotiations and in payments to Iran suggests to
the Iranians a lack of seriousness on the Obama administration's part.
There should not be a single press conference dealing with Iran where
the first, second, and third questions don't force administration
officials to address those Americans in prison in Iran. The hostages
should be household names. When the State Department counsels quiet
diplomacy, what diplomats are seeking is enough distraction to sweep
the problem under the rug. They should not be able to. Indeed, there
should not be another meeting held, let alone incentive given or
payment made, until they are happily at home and reunited with their
families. Quite the contrary, there should be no end to sanctions and
punishment until the Americans--all four--come home.
https://www.commentarymagazine.com/2015/03/01/why-are-american-hostages-still-held-in-iran/
From: Baghdasarian
March 1 2015
Why Are American Hostages Still Held in Iran?
Michael Rubin
Since President Obama initiated high-profile, high-stakes talks with
Iran, the United States has released more than $11 billion in frozen
funds to the Islamic Republic, and that comes on top of billions of
dollars in new investment. To put just the $11 billion in perspective,
that represents more than twice the Congressional Research
Service-estimated official budget of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps (IRGC), the group responsible for killing hundreds of American
servicemen in Iraq. Now, consider that Iran's economy had shrunk
between 5.3 and 5.8 percent (depending upon which Iranian figure is
speaking) in the year before Obama began his outreach while, despite
the crash in oil prices, Iran's current growth is positive, and it's
hard not to conclude that for the Iranian leadership, Team Obama has
been a dream come true.
Given all that Iran has gained outside of the nuclear arena, what is
most perplexing is how little the United States has received. Take for
example the four American hostages which Iran now holds:
Saeed Abedini. Iran has long been hostile to Christianity. While the
Iranian city of Isfahan hosts a large Armenian community which thrives
today, the Armenian Christians settled in Isfahan only because they
were forcibly relocated there from northwestern Iran as the shah at
the time doubted their loyalty. Non-Orthodox Christians have special
difficulty in Iran. Past State Department human-rights reports, for
example, depict the disappearance and murder of priests and,
especially, evangelical Christians whose community is small but
growing in Iran. Abedini, a 34-year-old from Idaho, was arrested
during a 2012 trip to Tehran to visit family and sentenced to eight
years in prison. He is a married father of two small children.
Robert Levinson. A former FBI agent whom Iran alleges to have worked
for a CIA contractor visited Kish Island, an Iranian free-trade zone
which is visa-free, in an effort to research a cigarette smuggling
case when he was seized by Iranian intelligence in 2007. While the
Iranians have sought at times to deny responsibility or knowledge of
Levinson's case, the state-run Iranian press acknowledged Iranian
involvement. He remains the longest-held Iranian hostage. Perhaps
reflecting its role as the -de facto lobby of the Islamic Republic,
the National Iranian American Council has distinguished itself by
omitting Levinson in its calls for the release of hostages.
Amir Hekmati. A former American Marine, Hekmati was arrested in August
2011 while visiting family in Tehran. Charged with espionage, he was
initially sentenced to death, a sentence later commuted. While some
Iranians might look askance at his military service, it should be
remembered that because Iran has conscription, many male Iranian
graduate students seeking to come to the United States to continue
their education or to visit family have served in the Iranian
military. The charges were more ridiculous considering Hekmati sought
and received permission from Iranian authorities in the United States
before traveling. Hekmati had briefly launched a hunger strike which
he subsequently suspended.
Jason Rezaian. The Washington Post's Tehran bureau chief, Rezaian was
arrested on undisclosed security-related offenses on July 22, 2014,
and initially held incommunicado. On January 15, 2015, an Iranian
prosecutor announced that Rezaian would stand trial in a revolutionary
court. His case is slated to be heard by one of Iran's most notorious
hanging judges.
That three of the four men are Iranian American should be irrelevant.
Immigrants and their children do not check their citizenship at the
door when they visit Iran, even if Iranian authorities insist they
enter only on their Iranian documents. Ronald Reagan famously obsessed
over American hostages held by Iranian proxies in Lebanon. The "Tower
Commission" found that Reagan obsessively peppered his staff with
questions about their condition and the possibilities for their
release. Never has the contrast between two presidents been so great.
Obama seems more concerned with springing terrorists from Guantanamo
Bay than in freeing Americans held captive by one of the world's most
repressive regimes. And, while Secretary of State John Kerry has
reportedly condemned the Iranian detention of American citizens and
called for their release, Obama and Kerry's willingness to continue
business as usual in negotiations and in payments to Iran suggests to
the Iranians a lack of seriousness on the Obama administration's part.
There should not be a single press conference dealing with Iran where
the first, second, and third questions don't force administration
officials to address those Americans in prison in Iran. The hostages
should be household names. When the State Department counsels quiet
diplomacy, what diplomats are seeking is enough distraction to sweep
the problem under the rug. They should not be able to. Indeed, there
should not be another meeting held, let alone incentive given or
payment made, until they are happily at home and reunited with their
families. Quite the contrary, there should be no end to sanctions and
punishment until the Americans--all four--come home.
https://www.commentarymagazine.com/2015/03/01/why-are-american-hostages-still-held-in-iran/
From: Baghdasarian