The U.S. Must Recognize Dalili, Sharmahd As Iran Hostages

(New York, N.Y.) — When taking hostages for ransom, the Iranian regime makes no distinction between U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and visa holders. Successive American administrations, by contrast, have drawn an arbitrary line in refusing to recognize U.S. permanent resident Shahab Dalili and U.S. visa holder and California business owner Jamshid Sharmahd as hostages of Iran.  

President Biden has repeatedly pledged to put human rights at “the center of our foreign policy.” However, in not designating Dalili and Sharmad as “wrongfully detained,” the administration has failed to recognize human rights violations against individuals that America has welcomed to live and work here and that Tehran has targeted for their connections to the U.S. The current administration also follows the Trump administration’s precedent in failing to abide by the spirit of the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act.  

During a recent press conference, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: “I have no higher priority than looking out for the security, safety, and well-being of Americans around the world and, in particular, doing everything that we possibly can to bring home those who are being wrongfully detained in a number of countries, including in Iran.” Yet the U.S. has not designated Dalili nor Sharmahd as wrongfully detained despite their ten years in captivity as bargaining chips of the Islamic Republic.  

Dalili was taken hostage while in Iran for a funeral. Sharmahd was kidnapped in the United Arab Emirates and renditioned to Iran. They have been kept captive on arbitrary claims of “aiding and abetting the U.S.” and “corruption on earth.” They and their families suffer unimaginable pain and uncertainty. 

The U.S. has a responsibility to use the full weight of the federal government to compel Iran to abandon its hostage-taking—which has netted more than $9 billion for Tehran this year alone—and return all U.S. citizens as well as Dalili, Sharmahd, and the remains of Robert Levinson. To do so, the Biden administration should use a liberal standard in determining whether an individual is wrongfully detained and pair such a shift with steady increases in economic pressure and diplomatic isolation to dissuade Iran from future hostage-taking.  

To read United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI)’s resource Hostages in Iran, please click here. 

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