Obama's 'Secret' Deal with Iran

In the United States, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee has called for the reopening of the case related to the prisoner exchange during Barack Obama's last year in office, in letters addressed to the Secretary of State and the Attorney General. This letter follows the publication of a detailed investigative report in Politico that reveals the details of the Obama administration's agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding the exchange of prisoners between the two countries, described as a secret deal and concessions. In addition to Ed Royce, Brian Mast, another Republican member of the House of Representatives, has signed this letter. The letter states: "As the Trump administration is reviewing U.S. policies towards Iran, it is recommended that actions taken by the Obama administration that violated national laws be addressed in relation to Iran's nuclear and missile programs and its ongoing hostilities against the U.S." The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee has requested the reopening of the prisoner exchange case during Obama's last year in office. American lawmakers, referring to the Politico report and noting that the Obama administration's wrongful actions were primarily concentrated in the State Department, added: "It appears that these actions have seriously harmed U.S. national security, and it is necessary to investigate the previous administration's involvement in interfering with investigations and the process of extraditing [prisoners] and provide the results to the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The publication of the Politico report coincided with the re-emergence of former President Barack Obama in public after a long hiatus back in Washington. The Politico report has been reflected in many American media outlets like the New York Post, with headlines such as 'Obama's Secret Generosity in the Deal with Iran.' The New York Post, citing the Politico investigative report, states: 'If you think you have heard the worst news about the Obama administration's concessions to finalize the nuclear deal, you are mistaken.' The detailed report from Politico, which spans several pages, has unveiled the Obama administration's secrecy, particularly regarding the security threats posed by Iranians who were imprisoned in the U.S. for very serious crimes or were being pursued outside the country. Despite opposition from U.S. Justice Department officials, these individuals were released and cleared of charges. The newspaper states: 'On January 17, 2016, Obama and senior administration officials did not disclose the entire story regarding the prisoner exchange tied to the nuclear agreement.' However, the nuclear agreement was hailed by Barack Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry, and European officials as the greatest diplomatic achievement and a historic agreement. President Obama, in his weekly message delivered on Sunday morning (January 17, 2016), depicted a picture of seven civilians awaiting trial for accusations of violating related trade sanctions, but according to Politico, some of them were actually criminals that the judicial authorities of the Obama administration had categorized as security threats. On January 17, 2016, Obama stated that after completing the nuclear agreement, negotiations between the Iranian and American governments accelerated, and eventually, the families of Americans imprisoned in Iran were informed of their release. The then-President provided a list of these prisoners, mentioning names such as Jason Rezaian, Amir Hekmati, Saeed Abedini, etc., but did not refer to the details of Iranian prisoners who were detained or pursued for serious crimes. Politico has published the names and allegations of these individuals in detail and added that in a series of unpublicized legal cases, the then Justice Department cleared these defendants of charges and withdrew arrest warrants for 14 other suspects from Interpol, settling for a mere 152-word statement regarding the prisoner exchange. One of these individuals was 'Behrouz Abdollazadeh,' who was accused of attempting to purchase thousands of American-made rifles and weapons and exporting them to the Islamic Republic. Another individual named 'Amin Ravan' was convicted of smuggling American-made military antennas through Hong Kong and Singapore to Iran. However, according to Politico, the most significant individual among these was 'Seyed Abolfazl Shahab Jamali,' who, between 2005 and 2012, transported thousands of spare parts and equipment related to nuclear industries from China to Iran, including hundreds of American-made sensors for uranium enrichment centrifuges. According to American officials, this individual was part of a network that procured advanced technical equipment and components, especially devices used to make roadside bombs. These bombs caused the deaths of hundreds of American soldiers in Iraq. Among other Iranians imprisoned in the U.S. were Bahram Mekanik, Khosrow Afghani, Touraj Faridi, and Matin Sadeghi from Turkey, who were reported to have smuggled $24 million worth of American-made military systems, microelectronics, and devices used in surface-to-air cruise missiles to Iran between 2010 and 2015. The case of Bahram Mekanik specified that since the mid-1980s, he had led a network smuggling sanctioned goods to Iran from Houston, Texas. Arash Ghahramani, an Iranian-American (sentenced to 78 months in prison), Kourosh Taherkhani, Hamid Arabnejad, Gholamreza Mahmoudi, and Ali Moattar, managers of Mahan Air and associated with the Revolutionary Guards and Quds Force, were other individuals released by the Obama administration. Other names mentioned in this report include Behrouz Dolatzadeh and Parviz Khaki, the latter of whom died in prison. With these individuals and a network that had operational bases across several continents, especially in Asia and Europe, several citizens of other countries, including Chinese partners, were collaborating. However, according to Politico, the most significant individual among these was 'Seyed Abolfazl Shahab Jamali,' who transported thousands of spare parts and equipment related to nuclear industries from China to Iran between 2005 and 2012, including hundreds of American-made sensors for uranium enrichment centrifuges. Law enforcement and judicial officials and federal prosecutors were shocked and angered upon learning the dimensions of the prisoner exchange agreement, as some of them had spent years trying to find these traffickers and infiltrate their networks. Politico's investigations indicate that the Obama administration downplayed the threats posed by these defendants in an effort to finalize the nuclear agreement and the prisoner exchange, easily releasing them. In fact, Iranian negotiators took advantage of the American side's urgency to finalize the JCPOA and achieved significant concessions. Herb Cohen, a negotiator in previous U.S. administrations in the 1980s and 1990s, told Radio Farda in an exclusive interview that Iranians are among the most skilled negotiators and that dealing with them is not easy. Mr. Cohen stated: 'Iranians know a lot about negotiating. In negotiations, one should never rely solely on the essence of the agreement; moreover, we know that in such discussions, concessions are tied to the negotiation deadlines, and if there is no deadline, there will be no concessions.' He added that he had been in Iran for negotiations in 1977 and 1978, and the Iranians know well how to negotiate. The matter of the prisoner exchange has remained hidden from public opinion due to the secretive nature of such cases, but this situation will likely change as the Trump administration, with control of both legislative houses, is pursuing a review of Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs, as promised. Last Wednesday, April 30, Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State under Trump, spoke of a 'comprehensive review' of the Vienna nuclear agreement and stated that Iran is the world's largest supporter of terrorism and responsible for escalating conflicts in several countries such as Syria, Yemen, Iraq, and Lebanon, which harm U.S. interests. According to Reuters, the U.S. Secretary of State also stated that an unchecked Iran has the capacity to follow North Korea's path.