Members Of The Parliament Ask Iran To Note US Prisoners, Before Returning To The 2015 Nuclear Deal

The Bushehr nuclear facility belongs to Iran. (Wikimedia Commons/Tasnim News Agency/Hossein Heidarpour v)

JAKARTA - The bipartisan group member of the United States Parliament on Thursday said there should be no recovery of the 2015 Nuclear Deal with Iran until the country releases all Americans who are currently being held.

Ted Deutch, a member of the Democratic Congress and his Republican counterpart, French Hill made the remarks during roundtable discussions with the current family of prisoners and former detainees.

They said the issue should be a priority in every negotiation, to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which limits Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanction relief.

"The issue of returning American hostages and prisoners who violate the law must be the main agenda," said Deutch, as reported by The National News, September 16.

"Everyone Americans detained in Iran must return home immediately," he said.

He said there was no relief from sanctions related to the deal to be given to Iran, while US citizens were still being held.

"Iran was unable to gain financial gain from the nuclear deal, while it is still actively detaining (people) Americans," Deutch added.

Asked by The National if he had received assurances from the administration of US President Joe Biden and Iran's negotiators on the matter, Deutch said he submitted his position to the White House by telephone on Thursday.

"This is a priority. I have explained to them this morning," he said.

Other Congressmen participating in the event, including Sheila Jackson Lee, Tom Suozzi, Colin Allred and resulting in Deuch, agreed.

Iran currently has four US nationals in custody: Siamak and Baquer Namazi, Emad Shargi and Morad Tahbaz.

In 2020, the US concluded former FBI agent Bob Levinson, the longest hostage in American history, was likely to have died in Iranian detention.

His daughter, Sarah barang, spoke at the same event on Thursday, saying the family was seeking help from President Biden's team to obtain definitive confirmation from Iran of Levinson's death, as well as other information that could bring family closures.

calm told The National the government told him that the issue of hostage-taking was "closely linked" to the nuclear deal negotiations. However, his family was not guaranteed to receive full closures.

Meanwhile, Sharghi's older sister, Neda Sharghi, said she hoped to see stronger support from the government and Congress for the release of her brother.

Nizar Zakka, a former Lebanese-American prisoner in Iran, stressed that JCPOA negotiations should not be sacrificed from US detainees.

It is known that efforts to return to the nuclear deal stalled following Iran's response to a US-EU proposal two weeks ago. It was not clear when the negotiations could resume.

Separately, a State Department official told The National on Thursday President Biden was "deeply committed to ensuring all US citizens detained incorrectly abroad return home safely".

The official said negotiations over the fate of US prisoners were treated "very urgent" by the government, with Iran being urged to do the same.

"Iran must allow Baquer and Siamak Namazi, Emad Shargi and Morad Tahbaz to return to their loved ones," the official said.

But the official said negotiations over detainees were held "despite discussions about the JCPOA".