INU - In
a White House statement on Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iran that
it would face "new and serious consequences" unless all unjustly
detained American citizens were released and returned
Trump
demanded the return of Robert Levinson, an American former law enforcement
officer who disappeared in Iran more than a decade ago, as well as businessman
Siamak Namazi and his father, Baquer.
Washington
slapped new economic sanctions against Iran over its ballistic missile program
last Tuesday, and said Tehran's "malign activities" in the Middle
East undercut any "positive contributions" coming from the 2015
nuclear accord.
The Trump
administration is putting pressure on Iran, while keeping in place the nuclear
deal between Tehran and six world powers that curbs its nuclear program inreturn for lifting economic sanctions.
Trump and
his administration are "redoubling efforts" to bring back all
Americans unjustly detained abroad, like 46-year-old Siamak Namazi and his
80-year-old father Baquer Namazi, who each were sentenced by an Iranian court
to 10 years in prison on charges of spying and cooperating with the United
States.
In
October of 2015, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps detained Siamak in
while he was visiting family in Tehran, and his father, a former Iranian
provincial governor and former UNICEF official, was arrested in February of
last year, family members said.
The U.S.
government has a $5 million reward for information leading to Robert Levinson’s
safe return. He is a former agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and
for the Drug Enforcement Administration, who disappeared in Iran in 2007.
Iran's judiciary spokesman said on Sunday that Xiyue Wang, a Chinese-born U.S. citizen graduate student from Princeton University, was sentenced by an Iranian court to 10 years in jail on spying charges.
Iran's judiciary spokesman said on Sunday that Xiyue Wang, a Chinese-born U.S. citizen graduate student from Princeton University, was sentenced by an Iranian court to 10 years in jail on spying charges.
“Iran is
responsible for the care and wellbeing of every United States citizen in its
custody," the White House said in the statement.
In a
related effort on Friday, Rex Tillerson, U.S. Secretary of State, met with
Yusuf bin Alawi, foreign affairs minister of Oman, an Arab country on the
southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. In the past, Washington has sought
Oman's mediation to help in securing the release of detained Americans abroad.
Oman paid the bail that ultimately resulted in the release of three American
hikers in 2010 and 2011, and last year, American prisoners held captive by
Yemen Houthi rebels were released after Oman’s intercession.
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