(Credit: Al Jazeera)
For a long time now, Iran has subjected its people to an oppressive regime. The people often experience brutal suppression of their opinions through violence, imprisonment of activists and political proponents, and all too commonly murder. As an Iranian myself, I know the effects of the Iranian rule first hand, having relatives who have been arrested, placed in jail, and even executed for their political and religious beliefs, and activism against the tyranny of the government.
In 1979, Iranian militia took control of the U.S. embassy and held 66 people captive for 444 days, in what is known as the Iran Hostage Crisis. After the hostage crisis, the relationship between the two governments fell apart. In 2009, American hikers who accidentally crossed the Iran-Iraq border were arrested for allegedly spying, despite no evidence being presented. Soon after, each of the detainees was released after payment of around $465,000. A while later, in 2016, Iran began to restrict its nuclear program only after a deal was made with other countries to ease sanctions. More recently, on Monday, September 18th, Iran again used it's U.S. prisoners as a way to gain back capital, receiving 5 of its citizens and $6 billion worth of assets that South Korea had owed Iran but not yet paid, due to the sanctions that the U.S. placed on oil transactions in 2019. Each person was wrongfully imprisoned for crimes they didn't commit, with one being imprisoned for nearly 8 years under inhumane conditions. Each event is an example of Iran using both foreign prisoners and their extreme agenda as a bargaining chip to their advantage.
(Credit: Getty Images)
This deal has opened up President Biden to a lot of criticism, with former President Trump calling the deal "absolutely ridiculous", and senator minority leader Mitch McConnell saying that he is "rewarding and incentivizing Tehran's bad behavior." Regardless of the politics involved, I believe that for once we should put our beliefs aside and ourselves in the prisoners shoes. It is a disgrace that politics and one's public image is often placed above people's lives. In Iran, the prisoner swap was labeled as a "purely... humanitarian action" by the President Ebrahim Raisi, further demonstrating the censoring that the Iranian people are subjected to everyday. The Iranian government brought no attention whatsoever to the money they received as a result of the deal.
We should be thankful that we don't live in a country in which we are subjected to such horrific mistreatment. We should be thankful that we don't have to live day to day wondering which one of our friends and family is going to disappear next. We should be thankful that these American citizens have been rightly returned to the U.S. and that they are back with their families. Hopefully this event is able to signal improved diplomatic relations with the two countries, but knowing history, that is an unlikely outcome for the future.
https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-prisoner-swap-sanctions-assets-4e1fa477f8e6af45fb764acd259c2f1a
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-66841137
https://www.reuters.com/world/south-korea-working-unfreeze-tehrans-funds-us-iran-detainee-deal-2023-09-18/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/09/18/us-iran-prisoner-exchange/
8 comments:
I agree with the U.S taking action to get our citizens home. I feel if I were in that situation, as a citizen of the U.S. I should be able to believe that my government would take all of the actions it could to get me out of a prison I should not be in. It is worth using our resources to get these people home. The one time I havent agreed with this was the Prisoner swap of Viktor Bout and Brittney Griner in 2022 because of the conditions. Brittney broke the law in Russia by smuggling cannabis into the country, meaning that this was no unfair situation. We gave up a Russian arms dealer for a WNBA player. In my opinion, this trade was unjustified because she was sent to prison for a reason, unlike these other examples.
I both agree and disagree with the deal made by the U.S to bring American prisoners trapped in Iran home. Placing innocent Americans in prison to gain an advantage in geopolitics is terrible and does warrant American action. However by giving in to the demands of Iran and not resisting this behavior, we in many ways support the continuation of this unwanted behavior. For illegal actions such as this, I believe the U.S should apply the same policy as it does when dealing with terrorist demands: "...we will not negotiate with terrorists and we will not pay ransom money to free hostages. The reasons for this policy are obvious; paying ransoms incentivizes the taking of more hostage". Instead of meeting Iranian demands, we must continue to apply pressure to the regime and demonstrate that actions such as this will not be tolerated. Only then can we truly protect American interest from Iranian aggression.
I am very glad you made the connection between this prisoner exchange and the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis because it could set a precedent that only leads to further Americans being taken hostage. Many regimes around the world may see the US' relentless efforts to bring back its citizens as a sign of weakness and will abuse it to fund oppressive and anti-US policies. While it was claimed that the $6 billion being given back to Iran will be used only for "humanitarian trade," I find it very difficult to believe this will be properly regulated and find it much more likely that Iran will still find a way to use at least a portion of the money in whichever way they see fit. The US will need to find a stance on foreign policy that reestablishes itself in a way where other countries can't simply take advantage of us and benefit from the use of crime and human rights violations.
There is really two ways to look at the deal to bring the Americans prisoners back home. On one perspective, the U.S. government did a good deed by ensuring the return of the American citizens as their role as the government is to protect the citizens. On the other hand, with the deal involving a large sum of money, it will only incentivize further poor actions. The U.S. needs to take a stand as the international superpower that isn't to be messed with. With new foreign policy, less situations such as these will occur again and the U.S. won't have to solve everything through large amounts of money.
The Iranian hostage situation(s) that have occurred throughout history have demonstrated Iran's hostility and its tyrannical government. Because of this, I feel it is necessary to bring our citizens home from this hostile environment. It is not as simple as getting them back though as was demonstrated many times before. Most notable is the instance of Brittany Griner, while not the same country, both Iran and Russia are very hostile towards the United States. Naturally, in order to save our citizens, an exchange must take place which did happen in the most recent case. Initially, it does seem fair that we exchange Iranian citizens for American ones, except that we also gave Iran and their tyrannical government billions of dollars on top of that. In a perfect world, a straight up exchange should be possible. However, we do not know what went on behind closed doors and this might have been the only way to ensure the safety of the hostages. Obviously, the safety of our people is paramount, so In the end, all that matters is that they are safe.
While it might've been a very controversial decision, I think ultimately it was the lesser of evils. I can't imagine how perilous the hostages' captivity must've been and the hopelessness they must've felt, feeling as though their government had abandoned them, and after being in captivity for such a long time, their release needed to be prioritized. The safety of American citizens should be the top priority of the government, and while I understand that it may not have been the most practical or logical decision, it was one that needed to be made.
I don't think theres ever not a "right time" to save innocent American lives. While I agree that the prisoner exchange will just support the continuation of Irans behavior, its the American governments duty to insure the safety of its citizens and this deal does just that. While there might have been a better way to get American citizens back home, this is the way that ensures the safety of the hostages. However, I also believe that the only was to stop the Iranian regime is to stop negotiating with them. If we treat them like terrorists and don't give them their demands, they are less likely to succeed in the future. In the meantime, we have to prioritize the safety of our citizens.
The agreement to repatriate American prisoners can be interpreted in two ways. On one hand, the U.S. government is praised for performing a benevolent act in ensuring the return of its citizens, aligning with its role to protect them. On the flip side, the involvement of a substantial monetary deal raises concerns about encouraging more unfavorable behavior. It is argued that the U.S., as a global superpower, should assert its position and not be susceptible to such dealings. A redefined foreign policy approach could mitigate the recurrence of such situations, reducing the necessity to resolve issues through significant financial transactions.
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