Pompeo Urges Senior Tehran Officials to Release American Prisoners in Iran

The U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, in tweets published on Sunday night, January 30, referenced the hostage-taking of U.S. embassy staff in 1979 and called for the release of American prisoners in Iran. He wrote on his Twitter account, "38 years ago on this day, extremists in Iran released 52 American diplomats who had been held hostage for 444 days." He further added, "Innocent Americans are still hostages in Iran." Addressing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Hassan Rouhani, and Mohammad Javad Zarif, the President and Foreign Minister of Iran, he stated that Tehran "must end its campaign of terror through hostage-taking" and immediately release Bob Levinson, Xiao Wang, the Namazis, and other hostages on the anniversary of the release of the 52 diplomats. The hostage-taking of Americans in Iran lasted from November 4, 1979, to January 20, 1981. Pompeo's reference to the 52 hostages pertains to the last group of U.S. embassy staff released on January 30. Iranian officials have repeatedly called for the release of their prisoners and green card holders from Iranian prisons. The Islamic Republic has reacted to these statements in some cases. Bob Levinson, a former FBI agent, disappeared years ago on Kish Island. Iranian officials claim they have no information about Levinson's fate or whereabouts. Xiao Wang, a Chinese-American researcher at Princeton University, was sentenced to ten years in prison by Iran's judiciary for allegedly collecting information from "sensitive" and "archival" collections. However, a UN working group had concluded that there was "no legal basis for the arrest and imprisonment" of Wang. Baqer and Siamak Namazi were sentenced to prison for allegedly cooperating with "hostile foreign governments." The UN working group on arbitrary detention described the Namazis' detention as a "violation of international law" and called for their release last year.