Iran nuclear talks seen as best chance to free US detainees – By Laura Kelly (The Hill) / July 2 2021
Advocates seeking the release of four Americans detained in Iran are growing increasingly concerned that failure to reach an agreement on rejoining the 2015 nuclear deal will squander the best chance for them to return home.
Biden administration officials stress that their work to free the Americans is separate from the talks to rejoin the Obama-era nuclear deal, but the meetings in Vienna nonetheless present a major opportunity to push firmly for their release.
A senior State Department official, speaking with reporters last week after the latest round of talks, said the U.S. has made progress on efforts to release the Americans but cautioned that “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.”
“It is a priority, and we are absolutely insistent that the four American citizens who are wrongfully detained be released,” the official said.
