An American citizen imprisoned for almost seven years in Iran on Wednesday (June 29th) asked Joe Biden to reach an agreement on a prisoner exchange with Tehran, despite the nuclear negotiations currently at an impasse with the Islamic Republic.
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In an op-ed published in the New York Times, Siamak Namazi "
implores
" the US president "
to put the lives of innocent Americans above American policy and make the tough decisions necessary to get us all released immediately
."
Despite the risks involved in speaking from Evin prison in northern Tehran, where he is being held, he said he was "
compelled to break the silence now because I believe the Biden government's approach to rescuing Americans in distress in Iran has failed spectacularly, and unless the President intervenes immediately, we are likely to wither away in that abyss
.”
Resumption of talks
The 50-year-old Iranian-American businessman was arrested in October 2015. His father Mohammad Baquer Namazi was arrested four months later when he traveled to Iran to try to secure his release.
Both were sentenced to ten years in prison in October 2016 for espionage.
The 85-year-old father was released in 2020 but cannot leave Iran.
Siamak Namazi's hope of being freed has been rekindled in 2021, he says, when indirect talks resume between Washington and Tehran aimed at reviving the nuclear deal with Iran.
US officials then pointed out that the cases of the detained Americans were linked to these negotiations.
“
It was the right approach, but giving up the opportunity to have us released because the talks are blocked is not
,” explains Siamak Namazi.
An ongoing negotiation
The other two US citizens imprisoned in Iran are Emad Sharqi, an investor sentenced to ten years in prison for espionage, and Morad Tahbaz, who also has British citizenship.
According to Iranian media, an agreement is currently being negotiated for the release of American prisoners in exchange for the release by South Korea of 7 billion dollars frozen at the request of Washington.
Read alsoAn agreement is possible with the Americans in Doha, says Iran
Negotiations to revive the nuclear deal were revived after Joe Biden's victory in November 2020, but US officials say they are pessimistic about the outcome of the talks, despite another round of indirect talks this week in Qatar .