Iran Calls for the Release of Iranians Detained at the Request of Americans

One day after Donald Trump's warning about the consequences of not releasing American citizens imprisoned in Iran, Abbas Araghchi, Deputy Foreign Minister, without referencing this news, urged the United States to release the 'recently detained Iranians.' Meanwhile, another official of the Islamic Republic directly referenced the recent detention of an American in Iran, alleging that the individual had 'committed espionage' and 'must prove his innocence.' The White House announced on Friday, July 30, that Trump and his administration have intensified efforts to secure the return and release of all American citizens unjustly imprisoned worldwide. The White House statement noted that Iran has been using detention and hostage-taking as a tool of state policy for forty years, with the recent detention of Xiao Wang being a fresh example of this approach, as he has been sentenced to ten years in prison. However, one day after this warning, without any reference to it, the deputy of Mohammad Javad Zarif announced on Saturday, July 31, that during a bilateral meeting with an American delegation in Vienna, the Iranian delegation protested the recent detention of several Iranian citizens 'at the request of the Americans.' According to the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), quoting Abbas Araghchi, these Iranian citizens were detained for 'trumped-up charges such as circumventing sanctions.' According to Araghchi, the Iranian delegation 'protested this matter and demanded their release.' In recent years, especially before the nuclear agreement known as the JCPOA, a significant number of citizens in various countries, including the United States, have been prosecuted for violating Iran's sanctions and for connections with the Islamic Republic with the intent of sending sanctioned items. Among them, some have been found guilty in courts in the U.S. and several other countries, including Germany, and sentenced to imprisonment and fines. After the signing of the JCPOA, while some of the Islamic Republic's nuclear sanctions were lifted or suspended, sanctions related to human rights violations or missile testing by Iran remain in place. Recently, on July 27, the U.S. Treasury Department placed 18 individuals and other entities on its sanctions list for supporting the ballistic missile activities of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Therefore, if 'new individuals from Iranians' have also been detained, it is likely due to violations of these sanctions, although Araghchi did not mention the names or identities of these individuals and did not provide further explanation. In his conversation with reporters, Zarif's deputy did not reference Trump's recent warning about American prisoners in Iran. However, Kamal Kharrazi, head of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations of Iran, in an interview quoted by ISNA from the French network 'France 24,' directly explained the recent detention of an American and stated that the individual's innocence 'must be proven.' He said: 'If he were innocent, your statements would be understandable, but it must be proven that he is innocent. This happens all over the world where individuals commit espionage and crimes, and therefore must be detained.' He further claims that there is a 'sensitivity' regarding the Islamic Republic that 'when someone is arrested, he is certainly innocent.' According to him, such 'detentions exist everywhere. These events happen everywhere.' In recent years, Iranian security and intelligence forces have detained and imprisoned numerous individuals among the Iranian-American community on espionage charges, in some cases holding them for years in prison and sometimes in solitary confinement, ultimately releasing them. The Iranian judiciary has yet to publish any evidence or documentation proving these individuals' espionage. Among these individuals are Roxana Saberi, a journalist, Amir Hekmati, a former Marine, and Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post reporter, all of whom were eventually released after enduring significant hardship and left the country. In this context, the head of Tehran's judiciary confirmed a five-year prison sentence for Nazanin Zaghari, stating, 'Sending money in a suitcase to Tehran has spoiled the Islamic Republic.' Iran confirmed the issue of Iranian-American prisoners in recent JCPOA negotiations, expressing Obama's 'commitment' to returning American hostages, including Levinson. Obama stated, 'Our actions for the families of American hostages are not enough.'