The Wall Street Journal Reports on U.S. Proposal to Iran for Prisoner Negotiations

American officials and sources have told The Wall Street Journal that the White House proposed establishing a direct communication channel with Iran in December to negotiate the prisoners of both sides. The Wall Street Journal, in its report on Thursday, February 8, referred to this initiative as the first diplomatic effort by the Donald Trump administration to address the issue of American prisoners in Iran. Officials and informed sources told The Wall Street Journal that despite Washington having repeated its proposal three times, Iran has not yet accepted the offer to establish a channel for negotiations regarding the prisoners. Baqer Namazi, Siamak Namazi, and Xiyou Wang are three American citizens currently imprisoned in Iran. Karen Vafadari and her husband Afrin Niyasari, along with Nizar Zaka, a Lebanese citizen with permanent residency in the U.S., are also imprisoned in Iran. Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent, has been missing for ten years, with reports suggesting he was last seen on Kish Island. However, the Iranian government claims it has no information on Levinson's fate or whereabouts. Steve Goldstein, the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy, told The Wall Street Journal: 'We raise the issue of the release of American citizens who are unjustly imprisoned in Iran whenever we can and have done so through various mechanisms.' Recently, the issue of Baqer Namazi's temporary leave and his return to Evin Prison elicited a reaction from the U.S. The White House announced on Wednesday that Iran is responsible for Baqer Namazi's health. Heather Nauert, the spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, expressed deep regret over Baqer Namazi's summons back to Evin Prison. The State Department spokesperson emphasized that the United States demands the release of all American prisoners in Iran, who are 'unjustly' detained, including Siamak Namazi, Xiyou Wang, and Robert Levinson, who has been missing in Iran for over a decade. Some analysts and observers of Iranian affairs say that the Islamic Republic uses the detention of dual citizens as a bargaining tool with several Western countries. Tehran denies this, stating that its judiciary decides on accusations and convictions 'independently.' Shirin Ebadi, a lawyer and Nobel laureate, previously stated in an interview with Radio Farda regarding the detention of Karen Vafadari and her husband Afrin Niyasari that the goal of this 'hostage-taking' is 'extortion,' as seen with the detention of Jason Rezaian and many others. Jason Rezaian, Amir Hekmati, Saeed Abedini, and Nasratollah Khosravi Roudsari were four Iranian-American citizens who were released simultaneously with the implementation of the nuclear agreement with Iran. Concurrently with the release of these prisoners, parts of Iran's frozen assets were transferred to Tehran. The transfer of these funds to Iran led critics of the Obama administration to accuse him of 'paying ransom' for the release of prisoners.