85-year-old American Bakir Namazi and his son Siamak were (provisionally) released after 6.5 years in prison in Iran. Both were convicted of espionage. Namazi needs urgent medical attention.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, had called on Iran earlier to release the Americans of Iranian citizenship. Namazi, a former UNICEF employee, was arrested in February 2016 when he went to Iran to press for his son’s release. His son was arrested a few months ago. Both were sentenced in October 2016 to ten years in prison for espionage.
According to the United States, they were wrongly arrested. Namazi was released on medical grounds in 2018. He was placed under house arrest for the remainder of his sentence. According to the US State Department, he was not allowed to leave Iran after serving his sentence, despite repeated requests for urgent medical attention. Namazi is now on his way to Abu Dhabi via Amman to undergo surgery for a carotid artery blockage. His son was granted prison leave and thus allowed to leave prison temporarily.
The United States also pushed for the release of other Americans while it was trying to revive the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and Western countries. The United States unilaterally withdrew from this deal in 2018 under President Donald Trump and reimposed economic sanctions on Iran.
summoning ambassadors
Tensions between Britain and Iran are now escalating due to the ongoing protests after The arrest and murder of Mahsa Amini. On Monday, the British Foreign Office said it had summoned the Iranian ambassador to Britain to suppress the protests.
In turn, the Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the British ambassador to Tehran in response to the British “interference statements.” This was reported by Tasnim News Agency. The ministry says the British are making “unilateral statements” about the protests. This proves, as Iran says, that it “plays a role in the war scenarios of terrorists operating against the Islamic Republic.”
The ministry also believes that London’s comments on Iranian internal affairs are “based on false and provocative interpretations.”
Protests continue in Iran over the arrest and murder of Mahsa Amini:
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