Obama Meets with the Family of Pastor Saeed Abedini

Barack Obama, the President of the United States, met with the family of Pastor Saeed Abedini, an Iranian-American citizen, on Wednesday. Mr. Abedini has been imprisoned in Evin Prison in Tehran for over two years. Nagmeh Abedini, the pastor's wife, wrote on her Facebook page about the meeting with Mr. Obama: 'The President told Jacob, their son, that he will work hard to bring his father back to America by March 17, which is his birthday.' Mrs. Abedini also mentioned that Saeed's father was able to visit him in prison. Previously, Fox News reported that the meeting between Mr. Obama and Nagmeh Abedini took place on Wednesday, January 21, during the President's visit to Boise, Idaho. This report is accompanied by statements from Nagmeh Abedini, who said, 'In the past two years, I have tried many times to meet with the President or even have a phone call with him, but I never succeeded. Now my prayers have been answered. He is coming to Boise, and it is a miracle that he wants to meet with us.' Earlier, Mrs. Abedini had asked Barack Obama to work for her husband's release during the nuclear negotiations with Iran. Pastor Saeed Abedini was arrested in October 2012 on charges of 'forming house churches to disrupt public security' in Tehran and was subsequently sentenced to eight years in prison. According to AFP, White House spokesman Josh Earnest stated that the U.S. is concerned about the unjust detention of several of its citizens in Iran. During this time, high-ranking U.S. officials, including Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry, have called for his release. Mr. Obama has also asked Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to create conditions for the release of Saeed Abedini and Amir Hekmati, another American citizen imprisoned in Iran on espionage charges. Previously, the U.S. State Department, in its annual report, referred to Saeed Abedini's eight-year prison sentence as a violation of human rights. According to AFP, Josh Earnest mentioned that the U.S. is concerned about the unjust detention of several of its citizens in Iran. The White House spokesman also referred to Secretary Kerry's meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in the past ten days, stating that discussions about the release of three American citizens imprisoned in Iran—Saeed Abedini, Amir Mirza Hekmati, and Jason Rezaian—were held. Josh Earnest added that the issue of these individuals' release remains a priority for the U.S. government. Amir Mirza Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine, is imprisoned on espionage charges, and Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post reporter, is imprisoned on security charges.