Barry Rosen: We must ensure that Iran abandons hostage-taking as part of its foreign policy

The release of two British-Iranian citizens imprisoned in Iran and their return to the UK was welcomed by the US State Department. Former hostages who had been held in Iran also expressed satisfaction and called for efforts to free other prisoners.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anousheh Ashouri left Tehran for Oman on Wednesday and from there to the UK. Both were reunited with their families at Brize Norton Military Airport. Nazanin Zaghari had been imprisoned in Iran for six years and Anousheh Ashouri for five years.

A spokesperson for the US State Department sent a text to the Persian service of the Voice of America, welcoming the release of the two Iranian-British citizens, saying: "We continue our efforts around the clock to secure the release of our citizens, including Morad Tahbaz, a British-American citizen who has been unjustly imprisoned."

Barry Rosen, a former hostage of the US Embassy in Iran, told the Persian service of the Voice of America: "I am extremely happy about the release of Nazanin Ratcliffe and Anousheh Asshouri and the news of the release of Morad Tahbaz. This took a long time and they were in prison for a long time. For me, it is a moment of joy and sadness at the same time, because many of the other hostages are still in Iran. For me, this is a moment that we need to look at and see what it means for us."

He added that Iran has been using “hostage diplomacy” for years to make money in exchange for the detention of innocent people. “When I spoke in Vienna with the negotiators who were negotiating the nuclear deal with Iran, I repeatedly reminded the representatives of the three European countries, as well as the representatives of the United States and other European allies, that they must work together and make sure that Iran will not do this again,” he said.

Barry Rosen said all of these negotiators could hold Iran accountable by signing a warning. He added: “I honestly believe that no deal should be made with Iran until all the hostages are released and there is a guarantee that Iran will not take hostages again. And if they do, any deal with Iran should be completely canceled. Iran should no longer use hostage-taking as part of its foreign policy.”

He continued: "I sincerely believe that no deal with Iran should be signed unless all hostages are released and there is a guarantee that Iran will never take hostages again, and if they do, we will stop this deal with Iran completely. Iran should no longer take hostages as part of its foreign policy."

Iranian users on social media criticized the imprisonment of these dual or multiple nationalities and their release in exchange for money. However, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic, has denied the connection between the release of these individuals in exchange for money.

The Iranian Foreign Minister said: "We demanded more than 390 million pounds from Britain before the victory of the Islamic Revolution regarding some defense purchases, and we succeeded in receiving this amount a few days ago."

Amir Abdollahian added: "A few days ago, the British debt to Iran was paid, but at the same time, judicial pursuits and the judicial process to request the release of people who had been detained in Iran on security charges were also ongoing; perhaps the days of the release and the payment of the money were close in time, but there is no connection between these two issues."

He continued: "The release of Nazanin Zaghari and Anousheh Ashouri was finally achieved with a humane approach in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the news that is being spread about taking money and releasing these people is false and inaccurate."

• Nizar Zakka: The release of other hostages is on the way

Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese-American citizen who was imprisoned in Iran for four years, told the Voice of America Persian Service: "The information we have shows that the process of releasing the hostages is proceeding rapidly. It started with the British and is continuing with citizens of other countries."

He added: "The previous agreement was that all the hostages would be released with or without a nuclear deal, and that was the promise we were given that there would be no deal unless there were no hostages left. An agreement has been reached on that and they will be released and we expect all the Western hostages to be released within a few weeks. Unless something very bad happens, we think that will continue."

"This was supposed to happen last June and there was an agreement that Britain would pay the debt to Iran and the US would not obstruct the release of Iranian money in South Korea, Iraq and Japan - money that had been frozen by sanctions," said Nizar Zakka. "In return, all the hostages were supposed to be released. However, we now think we have reached a point where an agreement has been reached and this is just the beginning. Morad Tahbaz is a great example of this, coming out of prison on leave and being released with the second batch of American hostages."