Long List of Dual Nationals in Prison; Amir-Abdollahian's Claim: We Do Not Consider Them a Threat

While the Islamic Republic has detained many dual nationals and citizens of other countries over its more than forty years of existence, and in some cases even abducted them from abroad and brought them into the country, the Iranian Foreign Minister claims that the "Comprehensive Bill for the Support of Iranians Abroad" is on the agenda of the Islamic Consultative Assembly and that this bill has a "special focus on dual nationals" to "provide facilities for them." On Tuesday, September 12, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian referred to the official presence of 5.2 million Iranians in various countries, claiming that one of the issues of concern for the Islamic Republic is that Iranians abroad should be able to travel easily to their "motherland." He claimed that narratives regarding the treatment of dual nationals are "false propaganda aimed at creating fear of Iran" and urged "all Iranians" to "continue their travels to Iran without concern." Amir-Abdollahian had also stated in November 2021 that the ministry would launch an online service that would "declare that you have no issues with entry and exit, and if any problems arise, the Foreign Ministry is responsible, and we guarantee this matter." While the Iranian Foreign Ministry claims to guarantee that dual citizens will not face arrest or other legal issues when traveling to the country, the Islamic Republic's actions over the past four decades contradict this claim. In a television interview in 2021, Ebrahim Raisi described "Islamic Iran" as "the best, safest, and most profitable place in the world" for Iranians abroad. Kazem Gharibabadi, Secretary of the Human Rights Headquarters of the Judiciary, also stated in December 2021 that "all Iranians residing abroad can come to Iran." These claims come in the context of Ahmad Reza Jalali, a physician and university professor in Sweden, who was one of the dual nationals that traveled to Iran in May 2016 at the invitation of the University of Tehran but was arrested by the Islamic Republic's security forces on charges of "espionage for Israel" and sentenced to death. Nazanin Zaghari, a British-Iranian citizen, was another dual national who was arrested on April 3, 2016, while attempting to leave Iran and was sentenced to about five years in prison on charges of "espionage." Nazanin Zaghari was released from prison in March 2022 after years of imprisonment, along with Anooshah Ashouri, another British-Iranian citizen, and returned to Britain after leaving Iran. Siamak and Baqer Namazi, Emad Sharqi, Morad Tahbaz, and Nahid Taghavi are other dual nationals imprisoned in recent years in Iran. Jamshid Sharmad, a German-Iranian citizen who, according to his family, was abducted by the Islamic Republic's security forces in Dubai in 2020, is also facing the death penalty on charges of "terrorism." Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese-American citizen who has experienced imprisonment while traveling to Iran, tweeted in response to Amir-Abdollahian's statements in 2021: "You were in the Foreign Ministry when your government invited me and abducted me."