The daughters of two Iranian-Americans detained in Iran for over four years pleaded with President Joe Biden for a face-to-face discussion. They urged him to make the difficult decisions required to bring their dads home.
The daughters of Morad Tahbaz and Emad Shargi, two of the three Americans held in Iran on spurious espionage allegations, applauded Biden for consenting to the recent release of American basketball player Britney Griner from Russia.
However, they pleaded that the situations of their fathers should receive the same attention and seriousness.
"Please, @POTUS, I beg you to meet with us and use every tool at your disposal to bring our loved ones home…Every day we wait is another day their lives are at stake"
– Tara Tahbaz, daughter of Morad Tahbaz wrongfully held in Iran since 2018 @FreeMorad1 #BringThemHome pic.twitter.com/qlXN1m8m4x
— Bring Our Families Home Campaign (@BOFHcampaign) December 12, 2022
Hannah Shargi stated her family has been seeking a meeting with Biden because they feel it will help him comprehend their struggle. She stated she thinks Biden is a remarkable, empathic individual.
Arrests and Fears
Roger Carstens, the U.S. special presidential emissary for hostage matters, defended the “difficult decision” that led to Griner’s release.
When asked by reporters why the families of Americans detained in Iran had not yet met with President Biden, Carstens stated the president was aware of these incidents. Secretary of State Antony Blinken briefs him monthly on these matters.
Carstens stated Blinken always carries a card with the identities of every American wrongly held abroad in his pocket.
Therefore, regardless of whether an individual has a meeting with the president, he wants everyone to know that they are continually working on these matters.
The Iranian government prohibited Tara Tahbaz’s mother from leaving the country. As a consequence, she and her sisters haven’t seen either of their parents in the past four years.
Since his incarceration in 2018, Hannah and Ariana Shargi have been advocating for their father’s release. They said they feared for his safety during recent protests when a fire broke out at the Evin Prison in Tehran, where the three Americans are being imprisoned.
Human rights organizations and the U.S. government asserted the three Americans are being held illegally and the allegations against them are without merit.
When asked about Emad Shargi’s incarceration during a recent press briefing, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said she was unfamiliar with his case. She stated Biden was dedicated to ensuring the release of erroneously jailed Americans abroad.
Long Wait
Siamak Namazi, the third American jailed in Iran, has been detained for seven years.
In September, he made an impassioned public appeal through his attorney, stating the Biden administration should not link the fate of incarcerated U.S. citizens to the conclusion of delayed nuclear negotiations between the international community and Iran.
Siamak Namazi, who remains in prison as a hostage of #Iran, has asked us to share the following three tweets ahead of @USEnvoyIran's @HouseForeign briefing. With the outcome of the nuclear talks looking increasingly grim, the US must act now to free the hostages. #FreeTheNamazis
— Jared Genser (@JaredGenser) September 13, 2022
His aging father, Baquer Namazi, was arrested in 2016, placed on medical parole, then freed in October.
Some politicians criticized Biden’s Griner agreement, stating Bout should not have been released.
Hannah Shargi expressed her family’s wish that Americans would continue to support President Biden and give him the fortitude to make these extremely difficult decisions, as he demonstrated in the Griner case.
This article appeared in The Political Globe and has been published here with permission.
