An Iranian-American dual national that has been detained in Iran for seven years has sought to appeal to US President Joe Biden for his release. The dual national added that he was going to begin a seven-day hunger strike.
Detained Iranian-American national Siamak Namazi wrote a letter to Biden, released through his lawyer Jared Genser, appealing for his release. The letter was released on the day that marked seven years since Iran’s release of five US nationals in a prisoner exchange that coincided with the 2015 nuclear deal.
Namazi urged Biden to spend one minute every day next week thinking about US nationals that remain detained in Iran, including environmentalist Morad Tahbaz, who is also a British national, and businessman Emad Shargi.
“When the Obama administration unconscionably left me in peril and freed the other American citizens Iran held hostage on January 16, 2016, the US Government promised my family to have me safely home within weeks,” wrote Namazi. “Yet seven years and two presidents later, I remain caged in Iran’s notorious Evin prison.”
“All I want, sir, is one minute of your days’ time for the next seven days devoted to thinking about the tribulations of the US hostages in Iran,” wrote Namazi. “Just a single minute of your time for each year of my life that I lost in Evin prison after the US Government could have saved me but didn’t.”
The White House National Security Council spokesperson said the Biden administration was committed to securing Namazi’s release, further condemning Iran’s “wrongful detention of US citizens for use as political leverage is outrageous.”
Iranian outlet Jam-e-Jam reported on Tuesday that authorities arrested a German national for allegedly taking photos of “sensitive oil centers” in the southern Iranian province of Khuzestan. The arrest also comes at a time when relations between Iran and Western countries are under strain following the ongoing protests that started in September.
The Islamic Republic has since accused its adversaries, such as the US, Israel, and Saudi Arabia of fomenting the ongoing unrest that erupted after the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of its morality police. Amini died days after she was arrested for allegedly flouting the Islamic dress code for women, sparking public outrage and intense crackdowns on protesters.