US to Demand Iran Free Detained Americans

When US and Iranian negotiators sit down this weekend in Pakistan, Washington plans to put one more item on an already fraught agenda: Americans held in Iran. The Washington Post reports that the Trump administration intends to ask Tehran to free at least six US citizens believed to be detained there. Advocates of the detainees hope Iran might release them as a goodwill gesture, noting that Tehran just allowed two French prisoners to leave following a mediated swap.

The White House declined to confirm, saying it "will not negotiate through the press," while the State Department publicly urged Iran to release all Americans it holds. Among those detained are Kamran Hekmati, a jeweler accused over a past trip to Israel, and journalist Reza Valizadeh, sentenced to 10 years for alleged collaboration with a "hostile government." Both are deemed wrongfully detained by Washington and were in Tehran's Evin Prison. Ahead of the talks, President Trump reiterated his threat to resume bombing should the negotiations fall through.