Iran took a new citizen hostage just days after the Biden Administration gave the regime access to $6 billion that was frozen by the United States.
According to a report from the Times of Israel, the Islamic Guard of Iran (IRGC) reported that it has in its custody a dual citizen man who is being charged with “attempted rioting and to cause disruptions” in the city of Karaj, near Tehran. Iranian authorities said the man had “several smartphones and money of significant value.”
The media did not clarify the second nationality of the detained person but suggested that he was Western. Thus highlighting the continued accusations of the Iranian regime practicing “hostage diplomacy”, which consists of arresting Western citizens in an attempt to obtain concessions such as the release of Iranians detained abroad.
In fact, recently the Islamist regime was able to benefit from the taking of American hostages by reaching an agreement with the Biden Administration which allowed them to recover a large part of the funds that were frozen by the United States due to the continued human rights violations carried out by Iran.
Iran says dual citizen arrested for ‘attempted rioting’ on protest anniversary https://t.co/j9VBiRKvvz
— The Times of Israel (@TimesofIsrael) September 16, 2023
Republicans and other critics of the deal tried to warn Biden that this decision could be considered a kind of reward for detaining Americans, which would encourage more kidnappings.
“[This agreement] creates dangerous incentives to capture Americans abroad, provides Iran a cash windfall as it continues to attack U.S. troops and sell drones to Russia,” said Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Jim Risch.
Even Reza Pahlavi, Iran's crown prince in exile, expressed concern about the Biden Administration's decision to pay for the "rescue" of five hostages with dual nationality.
“The purpose of such deal(…) is to sap the hope of Iran’s freedom fighters and to empower the repressive Islamic Republic. It is also a gift to this regime,” he said.
Reports indicate the pending finalization and implementation of a deal between the Islamic Republic and the U.S. government. This transaction is being called a “prisoner exchange”. But in reality, the Biden administration is making a $6 billion ransom payment to the Islamic… https://t.co/gt5vZF4WDo
— Reza Pahlavi (@PahlaviReza) September 13, 2023
