Senior adviser at United Against Nuclear Iran and founding member of Hostage Aid Worldwide Barry Rosen, told the Washington Post that he was one of the American hostages held by Iran for 444 days after the US Embassy was overtaken by Iranian militants in 1979.
He stated that “he was beaten, tortured, forced to endure mock executions, starved and used as a political pawn,” as the experience “left me with deep scars, but gave me a platform to advocate policies that put people over politics.”
“But at age 77, I know there will be only so many more opportunities for me to try to alleviate the suffering of others facing a similar fate at the hands of the Iranian regime by advocating for the international community to end Iran’s hostage diplomacy,” Rosen stressed.
In this regard, observers estimated that “Iran holds more than a dozen, perhaps two dozen, foreign and dual-nationals, including at least four Americans, as bargaining chips for economic and diplomatic concessions.”
Rosen continued by describing it as “disgusting, inhumane and illegal practice that began with the Iranian revolution more than four decades ago and has continued to this day,” saying that “last month, he traveled to Vienna, the site of multilateral talks to restore the Iran nuclear deal, or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and began a hunger strike.”
“An American is being held hostage by Iran in a dispute with the United States. His wife and daughters are forced into unlikely roles to try to free him,” he said.
He also pointed out that “the message that he carried to negotiators for the Biden administration and European leaders over the course of five days was simple: Work together and make no deals with Iran until all of the hostages are released,” stating that “he also urged them, if a deal is inked in Vienna, to include a provision that sanctions would snap back if Tehran takes fresh hostages.”
“I also cautioned against unfreezing Iranian assets or releasing convicted terrorists in exchange for innocent hostages, as that only incentivizes the Iranian leadership to continue this criminal practice,” he underlined.
He added that “he has been moved by the Biden administration’s stated commitment to put human rights at the center of its foreign policy.
“I also admire the administration’s desire to work multilaterally.”
“The hostage issue cuts across both priorities, but it isn’t clear that our political leaders fully grasp that at least a dozen families are on the edge of losing the leverage, a nuclear deal, that may be their last chance to bring their family members home alive,” he explained.
Saying that “It is urgent that President Biden recalibrate his administration’s approach to align the nuclear negotiations with his beliefs.”
Rosen then mentioned that during their meetings, Robert Malley, the US special envoy for Iran, and his European counterparts appeared to express genuine concern for the hostages, although the hostages’ fate still seems to be regarded, at best, as an add-on to the nuclear file.
“Malley did tell me and reporters that it is very hard for us to imagine getting back into the nuclear deal while four innocent Americans are being held hostage by Iran, but he did not rule it out,” Rosen pointed out.
“At that same meeting, Malley persuaded me to end my hunger strike to protect my health, and he said the crisis of dual citizens held hostage by the Islamic Republic has our full attention,” Rosen emphasized.
He also stressed that “it would be a tragic mistake to narrow the focus to resolving the threat of Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the hostage issue is part of that equation, as is the abominable human rights situation inside Iran,” stressing that “for the Biden administration to align its words with its deeds, we need to see the same degree of attention and urgency that is given to the nuclear file put on the range of Iran’s other malign conduct. Human beings should always come first.”
Additionally, he underlined that the patchwork policies of Western countries have failed to stop hostage-taking, and Tehran should be confronted with a multilateral effort.
“Should the piecemeal approach continue instead, and the hostages’ fate allowed to be kept separate from the nuclear talks, it will just confirm Iranian leaders’ belief that Western talk about human rights is just that talk, and that there is little price to pay for Tehran’s hostage diplomacy, and this is a dangerous message to send to Iran and its watchful allies,” Rosen indicated.
“I am disheartened that the international community still believes it can trust the leaders of a country that takes hostages, Rosen stated, saying that “he is sickened that they might be party to yet another deal that leaves innocent people behind, and that he is dismayed that the US in particular seems to have a save-the-JCPOA policy, but not a comprehensive Iran policy, despite more than 40 years of unending confrontation with a revolutionary regime that plays by its own rules.”
He concluded by saying that “this is an opportunity for Biden to lead with greater moral clarity on human rights than any of his predecessors during those four decades.”