Moniz: John Kerry Raised the Issue of American Prisoners in Iran at Every Opportunity

Ernest Moniz, the U.S. Secretary of Energy who is a physicist and was seriously involved in the Vienna negotiations, defended the nuclear talks with Iran while stating that John Kerry raised the issue of American prisoners in Iran during these negotiations. According to the Associated Press, Mr. Moniz said: "John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State, discussed other issues including (American) citizens who are imprisoned in Iran, but the main text of the negotiations was about the nuclear talks." The U.S. Secretary of Energy added: "John Kerry never neglected the Americans imprisoned in jail and pursued their discussion at every opportunity possible." According to CNN, one of the criticisms directed at the U.S. government regarding the nuclear agreement with Iran is why it did not pursue other issues with Iran, including imprisoned Iranian-American citizens, with the same seriousness. Mr. Moniz stated in an interview with this television network on Wednesday, July 15, that "the agreement we reached imposes much stronger restrictions on Iran's nuclear program than if we had done nothing." He added: "If Iran tries to cheat in any way, we have enough time to become aware of it." At the time of the announcement of the nuclear agreement with Iran, the wife of Saeed Abedini, a pastor imprisoned in Iran, and the wife of Robert Levinson, a retired FBI agent who has reportedly gone missing in Iran, criticized the Obama administration for agreeing to the nuclear deal without considering the fate of their husbands. The Washington Post had previously reported that U.S. officials had repeatedly raised the situations of Amir Hekmati, Saeed Abedini, Jason Rezaian, and Robert Levinson during the nuclear negotiations with Iran. Pastor Saeed Abedini was arrested after returning to Iran and sentenced to eight years in prison for "actions against national security." Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent, disappeared in March 2007 while visiting Kish Island. Jason Rezaian, an Iranian-American journalist for the Washington Post, has been in detention since last July. Amir Hekmati was arrested in 2011 while claiming to have gone to Iran to visit his grandmother and was initially sentenced to death for "espionage" and "collaboration with hostile countries," but this sentence was reduced to ten years in prison on appeal.