The matter surrounding the American hostages detained in Iran is separate from the other issues surrounding the Islamic Republic, said the State Department on Aug. 17.
At the State Department press briefing, in response to a question from The Epoch Times about whether Iran helping Russia produce drones for its war in Ukraine will complicate negotiations to secure freedom for the hostages currently under house arrest, Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said the two are not related.
“What we shared about the news last week of these five citizens released from Evin Prison and moved to house arrest, that issue is separate from all of our other issues as it relates to the Iranian regime,” he said. “And we will continue to take steps to hold the Iranian regime accountable for their malign and destabilizing activities in the region as well as, more broadly, as well.”
“We know quite clearly the Iranian regime is providing drones to the Russian Federation, and they’re being used in Ukraine,” said Mr. Patel.
Under house detention are Morad Tahbaz, Emad Sharghi, Siamak Namazi, and two other unidentified dual Iranian-American citizens.
The State Department has deemed Mr. Tahbaz, Mr. Sharghi, and Mr. Namazi as being wrongfully detained.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on the evening of Aug. 10 that there is no final deal for a prisoner exchange. He also stated that Iran would not get sanctions relief in any deal and that oil revenue would be allowed to go only into restricted accounts to be used for strictly humanitarian purposes.
“While I welcome home wrongfully detained Americans, unfreezing $6B in #Iranian assets dangerously further incentivizes hostage taking & provides a windfall for regime aggression. The Biden Admin must punish those who use Americans as political pawns and work to end this practice,” posted Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“I welcome the release of American hostages from Iran. But President Biden’s $6 billion ransom payment only encourages the ayatollahs to take more hostages and will finance terrorist attacks against Americans and our allies,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) posted on X.