Former Iran detainees fear Americans held in Iranian prisons face heightened danger
Former Iranian detainee Siamak Namazi says he is fearful in regards to the handful of Americans identified to be held inside Iranian prisons because the US warfare in Iran continues.
“They are the easiest-to-grab punching bag right now in the hands of that rogue regime,” he stated throughout a panel dialogue with “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”
“I think this is a dangerous time,” stated Namazi. He added, “For a hostage or wrongfully detained citizen abroad, their biggest fear is to be forgotten, and this is a very dangerous time for them, with all that’s going on in Washington’s mind.”
Namazi was detained in Iran’s infamous Evin jail in 2015 after nearly eight years of captivity, the longest-held American prisoner to be launched from Iran. The State Department decided that he had been wrongfully detained.
Emad Shargi, who was held in Iran for 5 years, was recalled from the Evin jail in October 2022, as large anti-government protests seized the nation. Mahsa Amini22, had been arrested for allegedly carrying a hijab incorrectly and died in police custody. Authorities stated she had a coronary heart assault, however her household stated police beat her to demise.
Shargi stated it is a “very uncomfortable situation” contained in the jail when there’s unrest exterior.
“Whenever there is an issue taking place in Iran, the walls of Evin are like an amplifier,” Shargi stated. “So, when there’s a ripple outside in the society, there’s a tidal wave inside.” He recalled a fireplace contained in the jail, and an inflow of recent prisoners associated to the protests.
Shargi and Namazi had been amongst five US citizens who were freed in 2023 in a high-stakes, complicated diplomatic deal brokered between Iran and the Biden administration that included the transfer of $6 billion in unfrozen Iranian oil assets and the discharge of 5 Iranians dealing with costs in the US
At the time, a senior administration official stated the deal “does not change our relationship with Iran in any way. Iran is an adversary and a state sponsor of terrorism.”
Namazi stated he was “confident” if President Trump and his administration knew “there are Americans sitting in Evin prison,” they’d “put that on the agenda” amid the continued warfare.
“I think it’s important that he hears that there are innocent Americans being held like we were — as political pawns,” Namazi stated.
Shargi agreed, saying that he could not “imagine if President Trump knew their names and knew these cases, they wouldn’t be one of the priorities.”
“I personally think that there will be a time soon because all wars end with some form of diplomacy,” Shargi stated. “So, I would implore President Trump to make sure that part of those negotiations that will be coming up is bringing our people home.”
There are at least four Americans at the moment detained in Iran. Two of them — Reza Valizadeh and Kamran Hekmati — have been designated by the US authorities as “wrongfully detained.” Both are believed to be held in Evin jail.
Namazi and Shargi spoke on a panel with Shargi’s sister, Neda Sharghi, American hostage negotiator Roger Carstens and Margaret Brennan Thursday, as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated the “largest strike package yet“was coming in Iran.
“Our American hostages, whether they’re in Iran or in Venezuela, is that they always become a hostage to other bigger, broader political issues,” Neda Sharghi stated. She instructed Americans “need to convince our government to separate them from what’s going on and find a creative solution, like we did to get Emad and Siamak home.”
Carstens, who served because the US particular envoy for internet hosting affairs in each the primary Trump and the Biden administrations, instructed Brennan he would not know whether or not the detained Americans had been raised in the course of the negotiations with Iran led by particular envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
He stated that when he was negotiating to deliver Shargi and Namazi residence, “we were very cognizant of the connection between the nuclear talks and that of the prisoner talks, because if the nuclear talks suddenly fail very horribly, the prisoner talks could be pulled down with it.”
Carstens stated the US tried to maintain the ties between the detainees and the nuclear talks much less intertwined, “to maybe just have a dotted line between the two issues, but not link them too tightly together.”
“We were very practical about how close those issues got together, and we wanted the flexibility to separate them if we wanted to,” Carstens stated.
He has acknowledged that for the regime, the nuclear challenge and detainees are “much more married close together.” But Carstens stated that may not be the case for the Americans: “If Witkoff and Kushner were trying to articulate an end to a nuclear issue, how close will they push it together? Practically, it may not be that close, depending on where they feel they are with the Iranians.”
