US citizen held in Iran appeals to Biden for help in rare interview from Evin prison

A US citizen imprisoned by Iran on spying charges that the United States rejects as baseless gave a rare interview from Tehran’s Evin prison on Thursday beseeching US 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 the politics involved and to just do what is necessary to end this nightmare and bring us home,” Siamak Namazi told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in a telephone interview.

For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

Namazi, 51, was speaking on behalf of himself, Emad Shargi, 58, a businessman and US citizen, and environmentalist Morad Tahbaz, 67, who has both US and British nationality.

Namazi made a similar plea in a letter to Biden on January 16, seven years after Iran released five US citizens in a prisoner exchange that coincided with the implementation of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal negotiated under US President Barack Obama.

In an unprecedented move, US citizen Siamak Namazi speaks out from inside Evin Prison to plead for his release, along with two other Americans. Namazi has been imprisoned in Iran for over 7 years and asks “President Biden to finally… hear our cry.”
“This is a desperate measure” pic.twitter.com/DEvRIBpTqZ

— Christiane Amanpour (@amanpour) March 9, 2023

“I remain deeply worried that the White House just doesn’t appreciate how dire our situation has become,” he said, saying he, Tahbaz and Shargi were all now held in the same place. Early in his detention, Namazi said he spent months caged in a cell, sleeping on the floor.

Namazi also called it “hurtful and upsetting” that Biden had not met his family “just to give them some words of assurance.”

A White House spokesperson said on condition of anonymity that “Iran’s unjust imprisonment and exploitation of US citizens for use as political leverage is outrageous, inhumane, and contrary to international norms.

“Senior officials from both the White House and the State Department meet and consult regularly with the Namazi family, 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.

Read more:

US targets ‘shadow banking’ network helping Iran evade sanctions