Siamak Namazi has urged US President Biden to secure his release and that of two other Americans.
A US citizen imprisoned by Iran for spying gave a rare interview from Evin prison in Tehran, imploring President Joe Biden to secure his release and that of two other American nationals.
“I implore you, sir, to put the lives and liberty of innocent Americans above all politics involved and to do just what is necessary to end this nightmare and bring us home,” he said. Siamak Namazi to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in a phone interview Thursday. .
Namazi, 51, spoke for himself, Emad Shargi, 58, a businessman, and environmentalist Morad Tahbaz, 67, who has dual American and British citizenship.
Namazi made a similar plea in a letter to Biden on January 16, seven years after Iran freed five American citizens in a prisoner swap that coincided with the implementation of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. negotiated under President Barrack Obama.
“I remain deeply concerned that the White House simply does not appreciate how serious our situation has become,” he said, claiming that he, Tahbaz and Shargi were now all being held in one place.
At the start of his more than seven years in prison, Namazi said he spent months caged in a cell, sleeping on the floor.
Namazi also called it “hurtful and upsetting” that Biden didn’t meet with his family “just to give them a few words of assurance.”
A White House spokesperson said on condition of anonymity that: “Iran’s unjust imprisonment and exploitation of American citizens for use as political leverage is outrageous, inhumane and contrary to international standards.
“Senior White House and State Department officials meet with and consult with the Namazi family regularly, and we will continue to do so until this unacceptable detention ends,” the spokesperson added.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
