Senate Passes Resolution for the Release of American Prisoners in Iran

On May 10, the United States Senate passed a resolution calling on Iranian officials to release three of their citizens imprisoned in Iran and to cooperate in locating a fourth. The resolution demands the release of Amir Hekmati, Jason Rezaian, and Saeed Abedini, and asks Tehran to assist the U.S. government in finding Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent who went missing in Iran. All 90 senators present voted in favor of the resolution. According to the Associated Press, Republican Senator James Risch, who drafted the resolution, argued that these individuals should be released before the U.S. begins nuclear negotiations with Iran. He stated that the Iranian government believes that actions like this enhance its position in the world, but this is not the case. Former President Barack Obama had previously asked Iranian officials at the end of the last solar year to release Saeed Abedini, Amir Hekmati, and Jason Rezaian, and to cooperate in finding and returning Robert Levinson. Robert Levinson, a former federal agent, disappeared in March 2007 while visiting Kish Island. Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post journalist, has been detained for a long time without formal charges. Amir Hekmati was arrested in 2011 while reportedly visiting his grandmother in Iran and was initially sentenced to death on charges of 'espionage' and 'collaboration with hostile countries,' which was later reduced to 10 years in prison upon appeal. Saeed Abedini, a pastor, has been in prison for over two years.