“Tensions have already been bad.”There are currently five Americans believed to be in Iranian custody. Namazi’s brother was arrested in Tehran in October 2015 on espionage charges that Babak says were trumped up. White, convicted of mocking Iran’s supreme leader, was the first of two U.S. citizens arrested in Iran after Trump won the 2016 presidential election. Left in limbo were both Namazis and White, as well as Morad Tahbaz, an Iranian American environmental activist; and Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent. Even though it’s been 40 years since he was taken captive, Rosen empathizes with current American prisoners being held in Iran.

Source: Los Angeles Times January 05, 2020 03:22 UTC