Iran has released US hostages after a deal that included the unfreezing of $6bn in sanctioned assets. Lovely to see these innocent people reunited with their families. BUT
-Didn’t we start this US hostage thing in the 70’s with Iran? It cost Jimmy Carter his presidency?
-Didn’t Obama make a similar deal that included pallets of US currency being flown to Iran?
-Isn’t Iran actively providing drones that are used to target civilian infrastructure in Europe?
The US State department warns against travel to countries where random detentions are possible. Yet people go anyway, at their own risk.
The US should declare that if citizens ignore the advisory, and are detained unjustly, there will be no deal to get them out.
The frustration is understandable, but the issue is more complex than it appears.
YGL Siamak Namazi was targeted simply because he represented new ideas and openness. We (in the so-called West) cannot live as isolationists, head in sand, and just hope the differences between nations will resolve themselves.
People of various cultures, including the West, are irrationally afraid one another because they don’t understand one another. The only antidote is understanding, which is what heroes like Mr. Namazi are trying to foster.