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WASHINGTON, Aug 15 (Reuters) - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday he could not confirm a report that Iran slowed its pace of amassing near-weapons-grade enriched uranium but would welcome any Iranian steps to de-escalate its "growing nuclear threat." On Thursday, sources said Iran may free five detained U.S. citizens as part of a deal to unfreeze $6 billion in Iranian funds in South Korea. Iran allowed four detained U.S. citizens to move into house arrest from prison. "Of course, we would welcome any steps that Iran takes to actually deescalate the growing nuclear threat that it has posed since the United States got out of the Iran nuclear deal," Blinken told a news conference, alluding to former U.S. President Donald Trump's 2018 abandonment of that agreement. Blinken emphasized that the agreement included U.S. citizens who have all been designated as wrongfully detained and said Washington would continue to examine other cases.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Blinken, Donald Trump's, Roya Hakakian, Sherry Hakimi, Nazanin Boniadi, Leah Millis, Iran's, I'm, Shahab Dalili, Biden, Dalili, we're, Humeyra Pamuk, Simon Lewis, Arshad Mohammed, Daphne Psaledakis, Josie Kao Organizations: U.S, Union and United Nations, Iranian, U.S . State Department, REUTERS, State Department, Thomson Locations: Iran, U.S, South Korea, United States, American, Iranian, Washington , U.S, Washington

☆ Opinion | How Much Is an American Hostage Worth?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Bret Stephens | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The Biden administration agreed last week to a deal with Iran that, if all goes according to plan, paves the way for five American citizens to come home after long imprisonments on spurious charges. It’s likely that the agreement is also tied to efforts to resume nuclear talks with Iran, though the administration insists the nuclear and hostage files remain separate. And it is not a sign of weakness when democratic governments pay what seem like exorbitant amounts to free hostages. In Israel, Ariel Sharon and Benjamin Netanyahu each released hundreds of Arab prisoners to obtain the release of a single living Israeli hostage. There is also Shahab Dalili, a U.S. permanent resident whose wife and sons are Americans and who has been imprisoned in Tehran since 2016.

Persons: Morad Tahbaz, Siamak Namazi, Ariel Sharon, Benjamin Netanyahu, Shahab Dalili, Paul Rusesabagina Organizations: Biden, Tehran, U.S . Embassy, Rwanda Locations: Iran, South Korea, U.S, Tehran, It’s, Israel, “

Siamak Namazi, left, a U.S. citizen who has been held prisoner in Iran for nearly eight years, with his father, Baquer Namazi. The U.S. government has identified three American citizens held in Iran — Siamak Namazi, Emad Shargi and Morad Tahbaz. NBC News first reported on the prisoner exchange negotiations in February. The families of the Americans held in Iran say their loved ones are "hostages" taken captive on false charges and used as bargaining chips by the government. And Siamak Namazi has been held prisoner in Iran for nearly eight years, longer than any of the other current American detainees.

Persons: Siamak Namazi, Baquer Namazi, Barack Obama, Emad, Shahab Dalili, Jared Genser, Namazi, Joe Biden, Obama, Biden, Donald Trump, Tahbaz, Shargi, Baquer, Robert Levinson, Levinson, Bob Levinson Organizations: NBC, Administration, NBC News, International Atomic Energy Agency, U.S, Congress, British, Tufts, Rutgers, FBI, CIA Locations: U.S, Iran, Tehran, Washington, Qatar, South Korea, United States, Israel, Iranian American, Iranian, Iran's

☆ Momentum building in Iran talks with West, says source
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Mostafa Salem | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Momentum appears to be building to revive negotiations around Iran’s growing nuclear program. Talks between Iran and the European Union on Wednesday focused on key sticking points, including nuclear enrichment levels and Iranian cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, one diplomatic source briefed on the matter told CNN. “The current environment has been positive for de-escalation,” said the source, who requested anonymity citing longstanding norms around regional government communications with the media. Both Qatar and Oman have played mediating roles between Iran and Western powers in the past. Iran had demanded that South Korea release $7 billion in funds frozen in South Korean banks under US sanctions.

Persons: Enrique Mora, Ali Bagheri, ”, Mora, Kani, –, Hossein Amir, Abdollahian, “, Biden, Brett McGurk, Siamak, Emad Sharghi, Morad, Shahab Dalili, Matthew Miller, Trump Organizations: CNN, European Union, International Atomic Energy Agency, Twitter, EU, –, Iran’s, South, Oman “, IAEA Locations: Iran, Doha, Iranian, Tehran, United States, – France, Germany, United Kingdom, Oman, Qatar, American, South Korea, Korean, Iraq

☆ American imprisoned in Iran for seven years launches hunger strike, asks Biden to secure release of Americans held in Iran
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Dan De Luce | Dan De Luce Is A Reporter For The Nbc News Investigative Unit. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

An American imprisoned in Iran for seven years launched a hunger strike Monday to protest his “soul crushing” plight and that of other Americans held in Iran, appealing to President Joe Biden to take action to secure their release. “Yet seven years and two presidents later, I remain caged in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison.”Namazi accused former presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump of having failed him and criticized Biden for not meeting face-to-face with the families of Americans imprisoned in Iran. “In the past I implored you to reach for your moral compass and find the resolve to bring the U.S. hostages in Iran home. His elderly father, Baquer Namazi, was imprisoned in 2016 after having traveled to Iran to try to help his son. Two other U.S. citizens are imprisoned in Iran, Morad Tahbaz and Emad Sharghi, as well as an unknown number of permanent U.S. legal residents, including Shahab Dalili.

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