[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 80 (Wednesday, May 16, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H3982]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             IRAN HOSTAGES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, last week all Americans were relieved 
when three of our own citizens were released and returned home from 
North Korea. We are happy for them, for their families, and we rejoice 
in their reunification.
  However, Mr. Speaker, this success only serves as a reminder that we 
have American citizens and legal permanent residents being unjustly 
detained elsewhere around the world, particularly in Iran. We know that 
the Iranian regime has played this game of detaining citizens from the 
U.S. and Western nations in an effort to get political and financial 
concessions from us. They hold these folks hostages, use them as 
bargaining chips, destroying lives and families in the process.
  Last year, my south Florida colleague and ranking member on our 
subcommittee, the Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee, Ted 
Deutch, and I held a hearing titled: ``Held for Ransom: The Families of 
Iran's Hostages Speak Out.'' We heard from Doug Levinson, the son of 
Bob Levinson, who has been missing in Iran since 2007--11 years. Bob is 
the longest held civilian hostage in America's history. He is also a 
constituent of Ted's, and I know that Congressman Deutch has worked 
tirelessly over the years to do whatever he can to bring Bob home and 
to reunite him with his family.
  We also heard from other individuals--Babak Namazi, whose father and 
brother have been unjustly detained by the Iranian regime. I have met 
with Babak many times, and my heart just breaks each one of those 
times, especially when we hear of Americans being freed from North 
Korea while Baquer and Siamak, his father and brother, linger in Iran's 
prison.
  And our subcommittee also heard from Omar Zakka, son of Nizar Zakka, 
a U.S. legal permanent resident and hostage of the Iranian regime. 
Nizar has gone on hunger strikes about a dozen times since first being 
detained in 2015.
  I am sure, Mr. Speaker, that the Iranian regime used the news of the 
freed Americans from North Korea as a means to torture their hostages. 
The mental, physical, and psychological abuse that these individuals 
must be undergoing is beyond comprehension.
  The White House has said that this is a priority: to release all 
unjustly detained persons in Iran--not just American citizens and U.S. 
legal permanent residents, but all foreigners who are unjustly 
detained.
  President Trump spoke about how this would not happen if he were 
President, so it is time for President Trump to make that a reality. He 
can start by urging our European friends, some of whom have citizens 
detained in Iran as well, to make this more of a priority for them as 
well and to condition any further talk on the release of all prisoners. 
We have to increase the pressure using all levers that we have, and we 
have to bring these brave individuals home.
  I was pleased to see President Trump announce his intent to appoint a 
special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs earlier this week. This 
is a positive first step, Mr. Speaker. It signals an intent to make a 
more concerted effort to bring these Americans home.
  For the sake of Nizar and his family, for the sake of Baquer and 
Siamak and their families, for the sake of Bob Levinson and his family, 
and for the sake of Princeton graduate student Xiyue Wang and his 
family, and for all the Americans and other foreigners being held in 
Iran, we need to make this a priority. We need to secure their 
immediate release.

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