Pompeo urges senior Tehran officials to release American prisoners in Iran
In tweets published on Sunday night, January 20, the US Secretary of State referred to the hostage-taking of his country's embassy staff in 2019 and called for the release of American prisoners in Iran.
Mike Pompeo wrote on his Twitter account, "38 years ago today, extremists in Iran released 52 American diplomats who had been held hostage for 444 days."
He then added, "Innocent Americans are still held hostage by Iran."
He then addressed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, Hassan Rouhani, and Mohammad Javad Zarif, the president and foreign minister of Iran, and wrote that Tehran "must end the campaign of terror through hostage-taking" and "immediately release Bob Levinson, Xiao Wang, Namaziha, and other hostages" on the anniversary of the 52 diplomats' release.
38 years ago today, extremists in Iran released 52 American diplomats they held hostage for 444 days. Iran still holds innocent Americans hostage. pic.twitter.com/vqB2fQPnih
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) January 21, 2019
The hostage-taking of Americans in Iran lasted from November 4 to January 20, 1981. Mr. Pompeo's reference to the 52 hostages is the last group of American embassy staff who were released on January 20.
Iranian authorities have repeatedly called for the release of Iranian prisoners and green card holders from Iranian prisons. Officials of the Islamic Republic have responded to these statements on several occasions.
Former FBI agent Bob Levinson disappeared on the island of Kish years ago. Iranian authorities say they have no information about Mr. Levinson's fate or whereabouts.
Xiao Wang, a Chinese-American researcher at Princeton University, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison by the Iranian judiciary for collecting information from “sensitive” and “archival” collections. But a United Nations working group said in September that there was “no legal basis for Mr. Wang’s arrest and detention.”
Baqer and Siamak Namazi have been sentenced to prison on charges of collaborating with “hostile foreign governments.” Last year, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention described the Namazis’ detention as a “violation of international law” and called on Iran to release them.
Source: Radio Farda
