Hostage Diplomacy: Roxana Saberi and the Three Jailed Iranian Diplomats

In response to a piece in which I thoroughly criticized the Iranian Intelligence regarding the arrest of American-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi, I was contacted by an Iranian diplomat who asked, me; if it's all about human rights, why isn't anybody talking about the three Iranian diplomats who have been taken hostage by the U.S. forces in Iraq since 2007?

What was he implying? What is the connection with the arrest of a journalist in Tehran and those three Iranian diplomats in Iraq? And is that the reason why the United States has been tragically unsuccessful in helping to release Saberi or other American-Iranians in prison?

There is a simple answer to this question; the Obama administration is not in a position to, directly, put pressure on the Iranian government to release it's imprisoned citizen. On the contrary, U.S. authorities' frequent demands from the Iranian government has changed the nature of Saberi's case from a domestic matter and elevated it to a U.S-Iran relation issue. Now, while Roxana Saberi is sitting in a cell at the notorious Evin prison, she likely understands that she is simply a pawn in the U.S-Iran cat and mouse game.

On January 11, 2007, U.S. forces arrested five Iranian diplomats in Iran's Consulate. The U.S. forces say that those arrested were members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is a part of Iran's official army. The United States considers IRGC a terrorist organization. Two of these diplomats were released in November 2007 after 305 days in prison. The other three are still in the U.S. custody. No one expects teachers or fishermen to be sent to U.S. embassies around the world; U.S. embassies are filled with CIA agents, military associates and diplomats, as are the Iranian embassies. Therefore no one should be surprised that the arrested individuals are members of the Revolutionary Guard Corps; Iran is practically run by the Revolutionary Guard Corps.

President Ahmadinejad himself was a midlevel officer of the Revolutionary Guard back in the 1980's. Several dozens of Iranian Members of Parliament are also former Revolutionary Guard commanders; add to this a long list of ministers and high-ranking officials. On the other hand, the Intelligence Service section of the Revolutionary Guard is in charge of finding spies and identifying other threats, rendering it a force that has been running the show for arresting Iranian-Americans over the last years.

In an interview, Saberi's lawyer told me there is no evidence in her case that validates the claim that she had intention to spy for anybody in the U.S. This lack of solid evidence shows that the Iranian government cannot prove such charges. If they had any evidence, they would have officially publicized it to embarrass the U.S. government, something they thrive on. But, let us not forget that the United States has publically admitted to sending agents to Iran.

American-Iranians who have dual nationality and travel with their Iranian passports are the easy targets. By arresting American-Iranians the Revolutionary Guard seeks two goals. First, fighting with the United States in a propaganda war and reminding them of their vulnerabilities, as well as sending a strong reminder about the three Iranian prisoners in US custody in Iraq. Secondly, sending an intimidating message to all Americans and American-Iranians who travel to Iran for business, journalistic assignments, or cultural tourism to shut their mouths and be careful of severe consequences of any attachment to the U.S. intelligence forces.

In fact, Roxana Saberi might be the latest victim of the proxy hostage taking game between the two countries.

On the other hand, while the arrest and imprisonment of Saberi, forcing her to write false confessions of her wrong-doings and sentencing her to eight years prison is unjustifiable (the Iranians do it on a regular basis with their own citizens), keeping three Iranian diplomats in prison for more than 2 years, with rumors of tortured and mistreatment, seems at odds with Obama's premise of mutual respect, which was beautifully formulated in his Nowruz message to Iranians last March.

The United States has to come to the realization that it's impossible to take three Iranian diplomats hostage for almost two years, no matter what you call them, and then expect the Iranian government to release Roxana Saberi. Iranian government should be accountable in the case of Saberi's arrest, as should the U.S. government in the case of those three diplomats. When is comes to human rights the color of your passport really doesn't matter.

Comments

[Wozzeck]

You are wrong about Ahmadinejad serving in the Revolutionary Guards:

Interview transcript: Iranian Presidential Advisor Mojtaba Samareh-Hashemi

Financial Times: "But you know Mr Ahmadi-Nejad is introduced, in particular in the western press as a former Revolutionary Guards commander.­"

Samareh-Hashemi: "No. He has never been a member or an official member of the Revolutionary Guards."

http://www.pezhvakeiran.com/print_MaghalehEN.php?id=112

[AngieMom57]

"Iranian authorities executed Delara Darabi on Friday morning, Amnesty International has revealed."

Off topic yet not by much. Say good bye to a sister, sisters. Crying..

http://www.amnesty.org/

[Wozzeck]

Rank of US in number of juvenile executions carried out worldwide, last 10 years: 1
http://www.abanet.org/crimjust/juvjus/dparticles/factsheetfactsfigures.pdf

[wereeverywhere]

A-Mom, good and revealing issue to bring up- killing children in the name of justice.

Partners in crime when it comes to unjust executions:

"According to a recent Amnesty International report, Iran has the second highest rate of executions a year with 317 executions in 2007. China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and the United States are responsible for almost 90 percent of known state executions in the world." http://us.oneworld.net/places/iran/-/article/iran-must-stop-youth-executions

[me again] Heart warming to see such an array of enemies come together. The fundies in IRI gladly joined hands with the right wing loons running the show in US. They dropped the 'Great Satan' tag long enough to find common cause at the U.N. to back a number of reactionary practices over the last eight years.

[Derek Flood - Huffpost Blogger]

This kind of tit for tat human drama has been going between Iran and the United States for decades. And between Iran and it's minority dissidents. And between Iran and European nations. This practice is nothing new but it is always unfortunate.

[AngieMom57]

Yes, yet how is she?

[AngieMom57]

Is she still alive?

[AngieMom57]

"Now, while Roxana Saberi is sitting in a cell at the notorious Evin prison, she likely understands that she is simply a pawn in the U.S-Iran cat and mouse game."

Sitting? I think not. Starving, being force feed, is she even alive?

[hodz]

1. She was reporting for the US media including the anti Iran Fox News which is a forum for “Bomb Iran” even after her press credentials were revoked in 2006. In this case, she not only broke the law, but also provoked the authorities.

2. In Iran, all Iranians with dual citizenship accept the local laws and expect to be treated as other Iranians. In this context, the US and US media has made it worse for her by their involvement. Also, people like you who want to connect her case to the three Iranian diplomats who were in Iraq at the invitation of the Iraqi president, prime minister, and the governor of Irbil are making her case difficult.

Regarding the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, the US lawmakers and government have made a grave mistake by designating a legitimate unit of the Iranian Armed Forces as "terrorist ". What would happen if Iran and some other countries designate the CIA, Navy Seal, and the US Marines as ‘terrorist”?

[zaz33]

hodz - excellent points

[Soori]

Well said.

People who do not know much about the situation and don't bother questioning all that you have mentioned above and in your previous post automatically make assumptions of their own. The issues are far more complex than anyone of us thinks. We have no idea whatsoever about her innocence or her guilt. However, by the US Gov.gettin­g itself involved and making a hype out of this and the msm publizing this on a daily bais; and the many articles written on this subject by journalists, and other writers 5 or 6 times a week is in fact working against her.

The US should understand that the more noise they make the more they agitate the situation. Any dialogue they want to hold with Iranian officials should be done in private and not broadcasted.

Furthermore, the US has given itself the right to brand any country and their organizations as a "terrorist organization" simply because they don't like a particular country. The IRGC is one of the military arms of Iran. The stupidity of calling this group a "terrorist organization" is mind boggling if not plane stupid.

[wereeverywhere]

(1) Because she's a journalist, Saberi deserves support, at least from those who believe in a free press. Whatever nationality, whatever outlet they work for, reporters need to be able to do their job if you want a minimum standard of freedom in any society. It would be using Fox news logic to say it's ok to kangaroo court a journalist based on political correctness.

(2) As to what laws were broken, it's hard to say since there's no details from IRI forthcoming. It's not very wise to simply take their word for it.
Her father, Reza Saberi, told Reporters Without Borders that she has not worked for the media since 2006. She did not have access to news and information as she did not have press accreditation. “Her writings were just personal notes and comments about cultural and literary subjects with a view to writing a book about Iran,” he said, adding that “she had been concentrating since 2006 on studying Farsi and Iranian culture at a Tehran http://www.rsf.org/print.php3?id_article=30475_article=30475
Also:
"Saberi's 11 weeks of detention and one-day trial are tainted by a complete lack of transparency," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "This was a travesty of justice even by Iran's poor http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/04/20/iran-journalists-conviction-tainted-secrecyted-secrecy

[Soori]

Then a question why are we not hearing much about the two American-Korean women who have been jailed in N.Korea? Why is our gov. and the media not making a hype about these two women? Why is the msm not writing 5 articles a week about their situation. Is there a difference here?

[wereeverywhere]

Many are wildly speculating over what Saberi did or said. Here's Amnesty International's conclusion:

"We believe that Roxana Saberi is being held solely for political reasons in connection to Iran's relations with the USA, or on account of the peaceful exercise of her internationally recognized right to freedom of expression and, as such, she is a prisoner of conscience who should be released immediately and unconditio­nally." http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/demand-grows-release-iranian-american-journalist-2009042

Given IRI's record on journalist unfreedom, that Saberi was held in isolation in Evin prison, and the lack of any evidence from IRI against her on the one hand and Amnesty International's track record of accuracy and caution on the other, speculations as to what she might have done are uncalled for.

[ssg13565]

Omid,

I thought at the time of the diplomats' arrest that this was another Bush screw-up.

I had forgotten that this blunder was still in effect. Thanks for reminding us of the connection.

I imagine that negotiations for a trade might be going on in secret right now.

Would we best protest or keep quiet in order to make these negotiations succeed?

[Lenyon]

I don't know if she was a spy traitor or journalist. Saying that one is a loyal citizen of both U.S.A. and Iran
living in either country. With the climate that has existed since 9/11 on this side of the world. She might have been accused of spying for Iran had her name been linked to any Muslim, Arab, Iranian even a little known extended family member.
Extreme paranoia has been the status quo for both sides for the US and Iran, justifyably since they cant forget and we can't forgive. If she truly signed a false confession as a person knowledgeable of "Iranian tactics" I think she should have known better. I've seen that on Bond movies. I mean those were not enhanced interviewing methods. Now she is on a hunger strike? If they let her die they will be called murderers, if they force feed as we do to US prisoners they will be called torturers. I can well see them jumpy in the weeks before 1/20/09. we all know Bush Jr. wanted to bomb for Israel.

[Soori]

It doesn't require an Iranian diplomat to question this double standard - many have asked this same question all along!! And simply by asking this question does not prove anything - innocent, guilty, or pawn in the US-Iran political game. People are making assumptions - and they are exactly that assummptions based on how they interpret someones' question, or the current political dynamic of the situation.

[louisamast]

Omid, more many many more people like you are needed to inform the decent people in this country who are hungry for the truth and unbiased news. I hope one day I would see that turn into reality. Thank you for your post and the efforts you have put into it.

[Khirad]

It seems like our shielding of the Shah and its response has been on a loop ever since the Revolution. Same kind of scenario, different actors.

Thank you for another thoughtful analysis. I wish our media would treat the subject of Iran like responsible journalists. Maybe you can get on Zakaria or something.­..

I was wondering if you thought designating the Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization was good policy. I remember the debate at the time and being wary of its consequences.

[BottomLine2008]

Uh, why do you call them "diplomats?"

[pgwodehouse]

Probably because they had diplomatic credentials. People who possess these credentials, and are accredited by the foreign country they work within, are not subject to the laws of that country. That is because they have what is known as diplomatic immunity.

This works well for our spies in other countries, as well. Most host countries know precisely which US "diplomat" is a CIA officer.

[Soori]

More importantly they were captured not in the US but in Iraq - that is in another country's sovereign territory. What right does the U.S. have to go against Iraqi law? The US raided the Iranian small diplomatic post in Northern Iraq and just captured these diplomats. In fact they were after the head of IRGC who was in Iraq meeting with Iraqi officials, but had already left Iraq instead the US took these diplomats instead. Regardless, the US has no right to even capture any of the members of Iran's miliatary force which include IRGC!!

Furthermore, one thing should be known about the IRGC - they are not just a military force - they include scientists, researchers, and other elements that have nothing to do with Iran's paramilitary force.

Furthermore, the two that were released where shown to have been "tortured" by the American forces. So I find it very hypocritical for the US to make certain assertions when they call anyone they want as "enemy combatant" and hold them in secret prisons with absolutely no trial? These Iranian diplomats have been held in prison without the US giving any reason why they are being held and with absolutely no right to counsel or ability to meet their families!!

[wereeverywhere]

Grabbing diplomats of all people and holding them on secret charges is supposed to accomplish what exactly? The dictatorial mullahs ought to send GW Bush a big thank you - these kind of stunts help the hard liners in Iran immensely. Obama's off to a very ambiguous start on due process, domestic and foreign.
If the US has charges that trump diplomatic immunity, level them with all transparency. Now. The democratic movements across MidEast deserve no less.

Oh yeah, IRI free Roxana Saberi.

[Soori]

You are absolutely correct.

In fact, in my belief after seeing all the wrong committed under President Bush which has proven to provide exactly the opposite results:

1. They have not benefited theinterest of the people in this country - in fact total opposite

2.They have not benefited the people of Iraq - their country's infrastructure is destroyed, millions have been displaced and another million killed, and their country engulfed in sectarian violence.

3. US has been involved in covert operations to destabilize Iran by using:

(a) ethnic minorities,
(b)Iranian dissidents,
(c) Using the Mojaheedin-e-Khalq (an organization that is listed as a terrorist organization in the US) and is protected by US in Iraq against the will of the Iraqi government solely because they can be useful in destabilizing Iran,
(d) providing $400MM of funding to overthrow the regime via "velvet revolution"
(e) establishing a headquarter in Dubai headed by VP Cheney's daughter Elizabeth Cheney with the sole attempt to invite Iranian political activists to turn them against their government in order to create a mass up-rising

All of this was done openly for one reason to create mayhem in Iran and further create suspicion by Iranian authorities to arrest people. These acts by the Bush Admin. has in fact helped the hardliners and hurt the Iranian people. Why - to force an up-rising regardless of how many people may be killed or arrested in order to accomplish Bush/Cheney's evil projects in the ME!!

[buttonz]

It is nice to see an article that describes what is actually going on. The reality is that this is more frequent than the public is aware of. The US kept the "diplomats" for as long as it could and now Iran has something to leverage. This will likely pose an issue for Obama as in the future if we arrest these types of people it will be very likely that Iran will immediately react and do the same; if not just arresting US citizens to gain other forms of leverage. Either way let's hope that Iran doesn't become enticed with using this method.