Haleh Esfandiari Leaves Iran

Haleh Esfandiari, an Iranian American scholar held since December by the Iranian government on charges of crimes against the nation and intending to foment a "velvet revolution," has been freed after 8 months of detention and imprisonment and is now in Austria. The Washington Post has the story here.

According to the Post, Tehran is still holding at least three known Iranian Americans and--possibly--an American ex-FBI agent:

There is still no news, however, on the status of four other Americans either detained or missing in Iran. New York-based social scientist Kian Tajbakhsh and California businessman Ali Sharkeri are in solitary confinement in Evin Prison. Both were picked up in the same three-day period in early May when Esfandiari was arrested.

Parnaz Azima, a correspondent for U.S.-funded Radio Farda, is out on bail of more than $600,000. As in Esfandiari's case, Azima was in Iran visiting her ailing mother when her passport was confiscated, and the bail was guaranteed by handing over the deed to her mother's home.

. . . Former FBI agent Robert A. Levinson has been missing since March when he made a business trip to Iran's Kish Island, where visas are not required. Unlike in the other cases, the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denies knowledge of Levinson's whereabouts, despite repeated diplomatic requests by the United States through other countries.

The most curious part of the story? That Esfandiari's release was secured as the result of a letter from her colleague Lee Hamilton directly to Ayatollah Ali Khomenei, Supreme Leader of Iran.

Her release followed a letter from Wilson Center President Lee Hamilton, a former Democratic congressman and co-chairman of the Iraq Study Group, to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In an unusual move after other efforts failed, Khamenei responded to the letter and pledged to try to resolve Esfandiari's case.

Is there a rift between the Ayatollah and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? Seems like an echo of the release of 15 British sailors captured in March.

Hostages of Diplomacy?

Could there be a correlation between high level US/Iranian talks yesterday and the news today that three Iranian Americans have been formally charged with espionage against Iran?

In briefings to reporters afterward, the chief negotiators -- U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan C. Crocker and Iran's ambassador to Baghdad, Hassan Kazemi Qomi -- said the talks focused solely on Iraq and did not stray into the contentious areas of Iran's nuclear program or the recent detentions of four Iranian American citizens by Tehran. (Emphasis mine)

For all the assurances that discussion would be kept merely to topics regarding Iraq, and that the nuclear issue and taking of political prisoners would not be "on the table," I can't help but wonder if the Iranians aren't raising the stakes to gain the release of five Iranians detained by US forces in Iraq in January. The US government originally claimed the five were agents of Iran's Revolutionary Guard detained on grounds of plotting against the US; Iran says they are merely diplomats and pose no threat. Sound familiar?

Detained in Iran: Where is the Responisble Reporting?

I'm not sure any media outlet can responsibly report the upcoming talks between the U.S. and Iran without mentioning that the government of Iran is currently holding no less than three Iranian American scholars and an Iranian American journalist. Haleh Esfandiari, Kian Tajbakhsh, and Ali Shakeri, along with Parnaz Azima, were all detained on recent visits to Iran. Human Rights Watch reports on the four here. Their Iranian and U.S. passports were seized, they've been subject to repeated interrogations, and, it appears, the government is preparing its case that these are American spies working to foment a "velvet revolution" within Iran.

The reason it is so important to report this fact when reporting on the upcoming talks is because you can bet that, as long as the mainstream media isn't talking about these detained U.S. citizens, neither will the U.S. envoys when it comes time to meet their Iranian counterparts.

For Haleh

Haleh Esfandiari's husband, Shaul Bakhash, posts a letter at the Los Angeles Times. Powerful and frightening, it reminds me to question what the hell is going on in the world when a U.S. scholar is captured as a pawn in a game.

Tit-For-Tat

Kevin Drum hits on something I've been wondering about the last couple days. Why are American/Iranian citizens being detained in a blatantly high-profile manner?

And this from News Blaze:

McCormack also cited the case of Parnaz Azima, a dual citizen of the United States and Iran who works as a correspondent for Radio Farda. Azima has been denied access to her passport and ability to travel despite being forced to pay a substantial bail bond on charges that her employer "spreads propaganda against the Islamic Republic," according to Iranian prosecutors.

And how does this fit in? "Iran wants former Palo Verde engineer released from custody."


Could it all have anything to do with reports this week of major U.S. naval exercises in the Persian Gulf?