Tuesday, President Obama celebrated the finalized Iranian nuclear agreement with great fanfare. Claiming it a victory for America and the world, Obama assured that Earth is now "safer and more secure."
However, there are three tiny details left out of this "historic" agreement with Iran: three Americans who remain imprisoned by the Iranian regime -- one a Christian pastor, one a journalist, and the other a U.S. Marine. Though the Senate asked for the Obama administration to ensure their release was worked into this deal, it appears that the president ignored the request.
Yet, looking back at Army deserter Bowe Bergdahl's release last year, Obama displayed more resolve in getting him back. And when critics said Bergdahl wasn't worthy of saving, Obama defended his decision saying, "regardless of the circumstances... [W]e still get an American soldier back if he's held in captivity. Period. Full stop."
But apparently not this time.
Breitbart's Michael Lucchese posted a description of these three men and what they have endured at the hands of Muslim cleric and supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. A truncated version is below:
Saeed Abedini is an Iranian American missionary who went to Iran to spread the Gospel of Christ.
In 2012, when the regime caught Pastor Abedini helping Iranian Christians evangelize and establish home churches, they arrested him and gave him a sentence of eight years in prison.
From that point on, Abedini has faced systematic mistreatment... ISIS militants who are kept in the same prison as Pastor Abedini issued death threats against him, saying that he deserves to die for his Christian faith. Iran has done little to minimize his contact with these violent extremists.
Jason Rezaian is an Iranian American journalist. He works as the chief of the Washington Post’s Tehran bureau.
On the night of July 22, 2014, Iranian agents raided Rezaian’s home in Tehran and arrested him, on charges related to what they called a “technical investigation.” They also accused him of giving sensitive information to “hostile governments” and “spreading propaganda.”
Rezaian waited seven months for a lawyer—a clear violation of his internationally-recognized right to legal counsel. Not only that, but Rezaian was not permitted to hire the lawyer he wanted. Rezaian’s trial is going on behind closed doors in what the regime calls a “revolutionary court.” The judge presiding over the trial is known for his bias in favor of prosecutors, and his custom of handing down extremely harsh punishments. Rezaian could spend as much as twenty years in prison.
Westerners are not allowed anywhere near Rezaian’s trial. Representatives from the Post were denied access, and even Rezaian’s family has been restricted from proceedings.
Amir Hekmati is a former United States Marine. He was arrested in August, 2011 on charges of espionage, and sentenced to death in 2012.
He was deployed as an infantryman in Iraq from 2003 to 2004, where he helped the Iraqi people begin to rebuild their country after the toppling of Saddam Hussein.
Hekmati’s arrest came right before he was supposed to arrive at a Ramadan celebration with friends and family. Despite the best efforts of his American family members, his release has not been secured.
Allegedly, Hekmati was in Iran as a spy for the United States government.
As Lucchese notes, Obama assured that releasing these Americans was a "top priority." But in the end, they were ignored in favor of appeasing Iran's desire for a nuclear weapon.
In a White House statement at the close of the deal, Obama only spoke of "the real and meaningful change that American leadership and diplomacy can bring" to make the world safer. But the question remains: Safer for whom?
