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HEARING ON AMERICANS DETAINED IN IRAN

AND MARKUP OF H. RES. 233,

EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

THAT IRAN SHOULD IMMEDIATELY RELEASE THE THREE

UNITED STATES CITIZENS IT HOLDS, AS WELL AS PROVIDE

ALL KNOWN INFORMATION ON ANY UNITED STATES CITIZENS

THAT HAVE DISAPPEARED WITHIN ITS BORDERS

HEARING AND MARKUP

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

JUNE 2, 2015

Serial No. 114–54

Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs

(

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/ or

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/

(II)

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, Chairman 

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey 

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida 

DANA ROHRABACHER, California 

STEVE CHABOT, Ohio 

JOE WILSON, South Carolina 

MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas 

TED POE, Texas 

MATT SALMON, Arizona 

DARRELL E. ISSA, California 

TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania 

JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina 

MO BROOKS, Alabama 

PAUL COOK, California 

RANDY K. WEBER SR., Texas 

SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania 

RON DESANTIS, Florida 

MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina 

TED S. YOHO, Florida 

CURT CLAWSON, Florida 

SCOTT DESJARLAIS, Tennessee 

REID J. RIBBLE, Wisconsin 

DAVID A. TROTT, Michigan 

LEE M. ZELDIN, New York 

DANIEL DONOVAN, New York 

ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York 

BRAD SHERMAN, California 

GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York 

ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey 

GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia 

THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida 

BRIAN HIGGINS, New York 

KAREN BASS, California 

WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts 

DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island 

ALAN GRAYSON, Florida 

AMI BERA, California 

ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, California 

GRACE MENG, New York 

LOIS FRANKEL, Florida 

TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii 

JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas 

ROBIN L. KELLY, Illinois 

BRENDAN F. BOYLE, Pennsylvania

AMY PORTER, Chief of Staff THOMAS SHEEHY, Staff Director

JASON STEINBAUM, Democratic Staff Director 

(III)

C O N T E N T S 

Page

HEARING WITNESSES 

Mr. Ali Rezaian (brother of Jason Rezaian) .......................................................... 6

Mrs. Naghmeh Abedini (wife of Saeed Abedini) ................................................... 13

Ms. Sarah Hekmati (sister of Amir Hekmati) ....................................................... 18

Mr. Daniel Levinson (son of Robert Levinson) ...................................................... 26

LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING RECORD 

Mr. Ali Rezaian: Prepared statement .................................................................... 8

Mrs. Naghmeh Abedini: Prepared statement ........................................................ 15

Ms. Sarah Hekmati: Prepared statement .............................................................. 21

Mr. Daniel Levinson: Prepared statement ............................................................ 28

MARKUP OF 

H. Res. 233, Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 

Iran should immediately release the 3 United States citizens it holds, 

as well as provide all known information on any United States citizens 

that have disappeared within its borders .......................................................... 51

APPENDIX 

Hearing/markup notice ............................................................................................ 56

Hearing minutes ...................................................................................................... 57

Markup minutes ...................................................................................................... 58

Markup summary .................................................................................................... 60

Mrs. Naghmeh Abedini: Material submitted for the hearing record ................... 61

(1)

HEARING ON AMERICANS DETAINED IN IRAN AND MARKUP 

OF H. RES. 233, EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE HOUSE 

OF REPRESENTATIVES THAT IRAN SHOULD IMMEDIATELY 

RELEASE THE 3 UNITED STATES CITIZENS IT HOLDS, AS 

WELL AS PROVIDE ALL KNOWN INFORMATION ON ANY 

UNITED STATES CITIZENS THAT HAVE DISAPPEARED 

WITHIN ITS BORDERS 

TUESDAY, JUNE 2, 2015

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS,

Washington, DC. 

The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 o’clock a.m., in 

room 2172 Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Edward Royce 

(chairman of the committee) presiding. 

Chairman ROYCE. This hearing on Americans detained in Iran 

will come to order. I am going to ask all of the members to take 

their seat at this time. 

All four of our witnesses are close relatives of these Americans 

who have been away from their families now for far too long. Ali 

Rezaian is the brother of Washington Post correspondent Jason 

Rezaian, whose so-called ‘‘trial’’ began last week. That is a trial 

that began in secret. Naghmeh Abedini is the wife of Pastor Saeed 

Abedini. Sarah Hekmati is the sister of former U.S. Marine, Amir 

Hekmati. And Daniel Levinson is the son of Robert Levinson. 

We deeply appreciate, I will say to all of the family members 

here, you being with us today to give this testimony today. The 

committee stands in solidarity with each of your families. We can’t 

imagine what you are being put through. We share your anger. We 

share your frustration with the position that you have been put in. 

Immediately after our hearing today, the committee will be passing a resolution that calls for Iran to release all detained U.S. citizens immediately and provide information it possesses regarding 

any who have disappeared within its borders. 

And I would like to recognize the work of Congressman Huffman 

of California, Congressman Labrador of Idaho, and Congressman 

Kildee of Michigan, and of course, Mr. Deutch, is a senior member 

of this committee. And I know that these members have worked to 

represent the best interests of your families and I thank each of 

them for joining us here on the committee today. 

This morning, we will be hearing the stories of these four Americans. Jason Rezaian is a journalist who was born and raised in 

California. He hoped to use his position at the Washington Post to 

present a greater understanding of the Iranian people. Arrested on 

trumped-up charges, he has been interrogated. He has been held 

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for over 300 days at the infamous Evin Prison. Like every other aspect of his case, his trial opened last week shrouded in secrecy. 

In September 2012, Iran arrested and later sentenced Pastor 

Saeed Abedini to 8 years for gathering with others to study the 

Bible—as his wife notes, this is a lawful act, even under Iranian 

law, but one which the regime deemed a threat to national security. His jailers have asked him to renounce his faith and I think 

he has been jailed for 8 years with threat of more if he does not 

renounce his faith. 

In August 2011, Amir Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine, was sentenced to death for alleged espionage. Upon his appeal, the sentence was reduced to 10 years. His sister will tell us how Amir has 

been beaten on his feet with cables and tasered repeatedly in the 

kidneys. His father is gravely ill and he had gone to Iran to visit 

family. 

In 2007, Robert Levinson went missing on Iran’s Kish Island. 

Eight years later, Iran continues to refuse to assist the United 

States in locating him. As Daniel notes, his father is the longest 

held hostage in American history. 

Each of these tragic cases is unique, but they each demonstrate 

Iran’s view of the United States, which is one of contempt. Washington Post editor, Martin Baron, wrote last week, ‘‘There is no justice in this system, not an ounce of it. Iran is making a statement 

about its values in the disgraceful treatment of our colleague.’’ This 

is, by the way, I would point out, a country that regularly holds 

these ‘‘Death to America’’ rallies. And so the contempt with which 

they hold American hostages is not something new with respect to 

dealing with the Iranian regime and frankly, with the Houthis now 

holding four Americans and refusing to release them because they 

are Americans, we have an extension of this policy into Yemen. 

And while our focus this morning is the release of these Americans, these cases do call into question the integrity of the diplomacy surrounding Iran’s nuclear program. As editorial boards point 

out, is this another attempt to pressure the administration into 

weakening its position at the talks? If a journalist can be suddenly 

imprisoned on bogus charges, what treatment can international inspectors for Iran’s nuclear program expect? 

And I would add to this a more fundamental point. If top Iranian 

officials cannot be counted on to assist these wrongfully jailed 

Americans, can they be counted on to honor the commitments they 

make at the negotiating table? Call me a skeptic, but we are very 

concerned about the fact that these four Americans have been held 

for so long and especially this show trial which just began last 

week. So the bottom line this morning is that these four Americans 

should be allowed to come home now. 

And I will recognize the ranking member for today’s hearing, Mr. 

Ted Deutch of Florida for any opening comments he may have. 

Mr. DEUTCH. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thanks to you and 

Mr. Engel for giving us the opportunity to hear from the families 

today. Let me say to each of you today, we will not rest until your 

brothers, fathers, and husbands return home. 

I represent South Florida, Coral Springs, Florida especially 

today, home to the Levinson family. Bob Levinson disappeared 

from Kish Island in March 2007. Since his disappearance, Bob’s 

3

family has received proof of life in the form of pictures and recording, yet Bob’s whereabouts remain unknown. No family should 

have to go through eight agonizing years of not knowing when 

their husband, father, and grandfather will come home. In those 8 

years, Bob has missed his seven children’s birthdays and weddings, 

his 40th wedding anniversary with his courageous wife, Christine, 

who is here today, and the birth of grandchildren. 

In the 2013 CNN interview shortly after his election, President 

Rouhani said, ‘‘With respect to Bob, we are willing to help and all 

the intelligence services in the region can come together to gather 

information about him to find his whereabouts and we are willing 

to cooperate on that.’’ It is well past time to make good on that 

pledge. 

For the next 30 days, U.S. negotiators will sit across the table 

from their Iranian counterparts. I appreciate the efforts made to 

raise these cases at every meeting, but the time has come to turn 

up the pressure. We have been told for a variety of reasons why 

the nuclear issue should be dealt with separately. But where we 

are now and at this morning’s hearing is not about centrifuges. It 

is not about enrichment capacity, PMD, or snap-back sanctions. It 

is about respect for human rights and human dignity and it is 

about justice. 

The United States Government must not rest until Amir 

Hekmati, Jason Rezaian, Saeed Abedini and my constituent, Bob 

Levinson, are home. And the time, Mr. Chairman, is now. 

I would now ask unanimous consent to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Michigan, Mr. Kildee, who is the author of the resolution that we will be marking up after this hearing, calling for the 

release of these individuals in Iran. He also represents the 

Hekmati family. 

Chairman ROYCE. Without objection, Mr. Kildee. 

Mr. KILDEE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for holding this hearing. I appreciate your help and your perseverance on 

this question. We are here today to hear testimony from families 

whose loved ones are imprisoned in Iran, including my constituent, 

Amir Hekmati. 

It is important that we hear their stories. It is important that 

the American people hear the names, Amir Hekmati, Jason 

Rezaian, Saeed Abedini, Bob Levinson, and not let their cases or 

their stories fade. Congress should know their names. The American people should know their names. They are being unjustly held 

in Iran and they should be released so they can be with these family members. 

The world is watching Iran and today, Congress and this committee will speak with one voice considering House Resolution 233 

that calls on Iran to simply do one thing, release the Americans 

that it holds. It is very simple. This resolution states and this Congress will say with one voice that Iran cannot hold Americans as 

political prisoners, people like Amir Hekmati, if it wants to be 

taken seriously in the global community. 

Let me be clear. The onus is on Iran to do what is right, to release Amir and the other Americans that it holds. 

So to the families today, I look forward to hearing your testimony, to hearing your stories, to help the American people and this 

4

Congress understand that each of these individuals deserve the 

rights and respect that any human being does. And I look forward 

to the day when we can welcome them all home. 

With that, Mr. Chairman, thank you so much and I yield back. 

Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Chairman, I now ask unanimous consent to 

yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California, Mr. Huffman, 

who represents the Rezaian family. 

Chairman ROYCE. Without objection. 

Mr. HUFFMAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I want to thank 

you for the opportunity to be here to welcome my constituent, Ali 

Rezaian, and to express my solidarity with him and his family and 

all of the families here and the many people around the world who 

are watching this important hearing today. 

It is important that we do speak with one voice today, especially 

given the fact that there is a spectacle of a trial taking place in 

Iran involving Jason Rezaian. It is important that the Iranian regime understand that the whole world is watching. And our bipartisan expression, by passing this importance piece of legislation, is 

one of the best ways we can make that statement. 

I want to thank my colleague, Dan Kildee, for his leadership in 

authoring this bipartisan bill. And I want to thank the committee 

for considering the bill on its own merits. Whatever issues or even 

disagreements we may have about broader issues, we are able to 

speak with one voice on this important matter today and that is 

important for all of these Americans who are unjustly detained and 

for their families and supporters around the world. Thank you very 

much. 

Mr. DEUTCH. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back the rest of 

my time. 

Chairman ROYCE. Thank you, Mr. Deutch. Without objection, I 

think I will also recognize Mr. Raul Labrador from Idaho for 1 

minute if he would like to comment. 

Mr. LABRADOR. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you for letting me speak, even though I am not a member of the committee. 

And Naghmeh, welcome to our committee today and to Congress. 

Not only is she a constituent and her husband a constituent, but 

she is a dear friend of many of my dear friends who love her and 

who I hear from almost on a daily basis about your husband. 

On December 20 of 2012, Reverend Saeed Abedini, a naturalized 

U.S. citizen and convert to Christianity, born in Iran, was imprisoned on charges of undermining national security for setting up orphanages in partnership with Iranian Christians. His closed trial 

was held January 22, 2013, and he was convicted and sentenced to 

8 years in prison. 

I commend President Obama for advocating for the release of 

your husband and I know that he has spoken to Iran’s President 

on this. But I also believe that I am concerned that the Iranian 

Government is more interested in words than in actions. If the Iranian Government is sincerely committed to action, a good first step 

would be to immediately release your husband and all the other 

people that are being held captive in Iran. And I believe that all 

negotiations with Iran should cease, in my opinion, if this is not 

the first step that they engage in. If they are not willing to become 

part of the world community, we should not be negotiating with 

5

them at all. And I hope that this hearing today will help us to get 

that goal completed. Thank you very much for being here and God 

bless all of you. 

Chairman ROYCE. Thank you. We will go for 1 minute to Ms. 

Ros-Lehtinen, chairman of the Subcommittee on the Middle East 

and North Africa. 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. And I 

praise the courage, the strength, and the love that our witnesses 

have shown for their family members who are being used as pawns 

by the Iranian regime. Bob, Saeed, Amir, and Jason are American 

citizens being held in Iran, but they are much more than that. 

They are fathers and sons and husbands, brothers, uncles, and 

friends. Yet, for years, they have languished in Iran’s most notorious prisons and more needs to be done to secure their release 

now. 

The U.S. must not negotiate to reward the Iranian regime while 

continuing to pursue this weak nuclear deal with a regime that 

continues to imprison American citizens. We must make it clear in 

no uncertain terms that we will not allow the regime to hold American citizens and deny them their due process while torturing them 

and subjecting them to inhumane treatment. The administration 

must realize that while it expresses niceties to Iran, the Iranian regime continues to imprison American citizens and violate their 

human rights. This must stop now. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman ROYCE. And lastly, 1 minute to Mr. Chris Smith, 

chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global 

Human Rights, and International Organizations. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you very much. Thank you for calling this extraordinarily important hearing, very timely. I can only imagine 

the emotional agony, especially in the middle of the night, each of 

our distinguished witnesses experience as you pray, as you think 

and ponder what your loved one is going through. Naghmeh is back 

again for the fourth time now, testifying twice before my subcommittee. She has been absolutely tenacious on behalf of Saeed 

Abedini, as have all of the other witnesses, calling for their unconditional and immediate release. 

It seems to me to be folly in the extreme that we are engaging 

in a negotiation on nuclear—potential nuclear weapons, when 

Americans are being held hostage by a dictatorship. I call again, 

as we all do, upon the administration to make this even more of 

a priority. Let us not forget at the first hearing where Naghmeh 

testified, she had gone down to the State Department and they told 

her there is nothing we can do. There is so much all of us can do. 

This resolution is another step in that direction and hopefully, we 

in a totally bipartisan way, will express the will of the American 

people, please, let these innocent people go. 

Chairman ROYCE. We need to welcome the newest member of our 

committee here, Congressman Daniel Donovan, Jr. He recently won 

the special election in Staten Island, New York. Previously, he 

served as District Attorney in Richmond County. So welcome, Mr. 

Donovan. And the family just had a baby girl, I am told. 

Mr. DONOVAN. We did, just 12 days ago. 

6

Chairman ROYCE. Well, congratulations, Mr. Donovan. And we 

now will introduce our panel, the witnesses here today. 

Mr. Ali Rezaian is the brother of Washington Post correspondent, 

Jason Rezaian, whose trial began in Iran last week in secret. And 

he has traveled, Mr. Rezaian has traveled from California to be 

with us today. We welcome him. 

Mrs. Naghmeh Abedini is the wife of Pastor Saeed Abedini, who 

is currently serving an 8-year sentence in an Iranian prison. Mrs. 

Abedini grew up in Boise, Idaho and has been actively involved 

with her church congregation for many years. 

Sarah Hekmati is the sister of Amir Hekmati, a former Marine, 

now imprisoned in Iran for 4 years. Ms. Hekmati has led the campaign for his freedom since his imprisonment in 2011. 

And Mr. Daniel Levinson is the son of Robert Levinson, who has 

been missing in Iran since 2007. Mr. Levinson is an analyst at a 

Government contractor and he is based in Coral Springs, Florida. 

And we appreciate all of our witnesses being with us today. 

Without objection, all of the witnesses’ full prepared statements are 

going to be part of the record and members here will have 5 calendar days to submit any statements or questions or extraneous 

material for the record. 

And Mr. Rezaian, if we could start with you, if you could summarize your remarks. Thank you, sir. 

STATEMENT OF MR. ALI REZAIAN (BROTHER OF JASON 

REZAIAN) 

Mr. REZAIAN. Chairman Royce, Ranking Member Deutch, and 

members of the committee, thank you for inviting me here today. 

My name is Ali Rezaian, and I am here on behalf of my brother, 

Jason Rezaian, who has been held for nearly a year in a prison in 

Tehran for activities that he did not commit. 

My brother has always been a passionate storyteller. Since 2012, 

he has been serving as the Tehran Bureau Chief for the Washington Post. Jason’s reporting in Iran has ranged from stories 

about everyday life in Tehran to baseball’s growing popularity with 

Iranian citizens. His stories always went beyond stereotypes, reported on facts, and informed readers about the rich and complex 

fabric of Iranian society. 

While simply doing his job, Jason and his wife were taken without warning and he has now been detained in Evin Prison for 315 

days. 

While most people know Jason as a journalist, I know Jason as 

a brother, son, husband, and devoted uncle. Jason is my little 

brother. In fact, when he was born my parents turned to me for 

ideas about what to name him. I suggested the name Jason because at the time my best friend’s name was Jason. Today, Jason 

is my best friend. 

Like a lot of kids in our neighborhood, Jason grew up infatuated 

with Star Wars and he always has been an enthusiastic Oakland 

A’s fan. I proudly watch Jason grow up to be a truly, truly remarkable man with intellect, endless curiosity, joy for life, and the ability to tell a story led him into journalism where he has excelled. 

But above all, Jason is a loving family member. 

7

In 2011, my own family suffered the tragic and unexpected death 

of our 5-year-old son Walker. Jason was working in Iran at the 

time when I called him with the news. Without a second thought, 

Jason got on a plane in the same day to come to California to comfort and support our family. I cannot tell you how much that meant 

to myself, my wife, as well as our parents. 

In addition to being a devoted son and brother, Jason became a 

husband 2 years ago when he married Yeganeh Salehi. Sadly, 

Jason has now spent nearly half of their marriage in prison. My 

son Paxton, who is seven, asks me daily when is Uncle Jason going 

to be released from prison? With the help of this committee and 

others from around the world, I believe Uncle Jason and Paxton 

can still see an A’s game in Oakland together this summer. 

Let me be very clear. The charges against Jason are false. Jason 

did sometimes write about Iran’s domestic and foreign policy, but 

this is perfectly legal conduct recognized around the world as practicing journalism. Iran’s treatment of Jason has been and remains 

in violation of international human rights laws that Iran has repeatedly promised to uphold. Yet, despite being party to treaties 

that protect free speech and due process, Iran has afforded Jason 

neither of these fundamental rights. 

Now more than ever, I am concerned about Jason’s health and 

welfare. While in prison, Jason has suffered painful and debilitating infections. He has lost more than 40 pounds. He also has 

chronic high blood pressure and a respiratory condition which was 

exasperated during the hot summer months in Tehran. He is often 

kept in solitary confinement and is allowed only minimal human 

interaction. 

I appreciate the support of all of the very good people who want 

to free Jason. The Washington Post’s Chief Foreign Head is here 

with us today. President Obama has spoken about Jason publicly. 

The Washington Post’s legal team led by Jay Kennedy, has been 

unwavering in its support of Jason and me. Thank you all. It 

means more than words can express. 

It is time for Jason to come home. It is time for the families here 

to all be reunited. Releasing Jason is the humane thing to do and 

it is the right thing to do and I hope that Iran will do so immediately. 

My mother wishes that she were here today to tell you all about 

Jason. But she is currently in Tehran so that she can more closely 

follow the situation with his trial. With the committee’s indulgence, 

I would like to play a short video that perfectly sums up how we 

all feel. 

Chairman ROYCE. Without objection. 

[Video played.] 

Mr. REZAIAN. It is time for Jason to come home to his family. It 

is time for the loved ones of everyone on this panel to come home 

to their family. Iran could make that happen today and should do 

it without further delay. Thank you for your time and I look forward to your questions. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Rezaian follows:]

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Chairman ROYCE. Thank you, Ali. Mrs. Abedini. 

STATEMENT OF MRS. NAGHMEH ABEDINI (WIFE OF SAEED 

ABEDINI) 

Mrs. ABEDINI. Thank you, Chairman Royce, Ranking Member 

Deutch, and Mr. Engel and members of the committee and over 

917,000 who have signed petitions for the release of my husband, 

who surrounded our family with their prayer and support. I am 

thankful for the State Department for speaking to Iran on the sidelines and for the President who has spoken out and also gave me 

an opportunity to meet with him in January of this year. 

But as Mr. Rezaian mentioned, it is time to bring Saeed home. 

I have been before the Human Rights Committee and our Foreign 

Relations Committee a few times and I just think about 3 years 

ago when I was so hopeful that maybe this hearing will bring him 

home, maybe something will happen. And I am really hoping that 

this will be it. 

I stand before you today not as a lawyer or a politician. I am actually very scared of speaking in public, but as a wife of a husband 

who is in prison in Iran because of his Christian faith, and the only 

reason I put myself out there and speak is to bring my husband 

home and to bring the father of my children home. 

Saeed is an American citizen who was sentenced to 8 years. As 

mentioned, the Iranian Government has said they would add on 

more years because he refuses to deny his Christian faith. He has 

been in the Iranian prison for his Christian faith and for gathering 

with other believers 13 years earlier, under a different President 

who was actually allowing it, and again, this is protected by Iranian law. But the Iranian Government has said that peaceful gathering of religious minorities is a threat to their national security. 

Every day, I wake up with an excruciating pain as I understand 

many of the families wake up. Life is no longer carefree. You wake 

up with a pain. Most mornings, I wake up in a hotel room or I am 

in airports and I wake up to the reality of our life. And my children 

have had to go without a father and a mother for 3 years now. It 

is very difficult to try to choose between being at home with my 

children when they need me the most and as they are hurting and 

they want to hold on to at least one parent, and trying to advocate 

for my husband. I just can’t imagine not doing everything I can 

every single day of my life until my husband is home. 

So it is very painful for me to have to leave my kids behind. I 

just came back a few days ago from speaking before the European 

Parliament and the German Parliament and trying to get their 

support. And my children, I had to explain to them why again I 

had to travel, as they were desperately holding on to me and asking me not to go. And every time I tell them it is for Daddy. I am 

going to bring your Daddy home. 

It is very difficult going back to them and not being able to have 

solid answers. I really hope that this will be the time that we can 

bring Saeed home. Saeed has been tortured. The first few months 

of his imprisonment he was beaten pretty badly where his internal 

injuries and bleeding started. He has been sent to an exile prison, 

Rajai Shahr prison. He has been moved many times. He was put 

in a murderers’ ward where he was told by the head of the new 

14

prison that if they find out he is a convert, they will kill him. He 

was literally in the lion’s den when he was in the murder ward in 

Rajai Shahr and he was covered with lice and doing horribly physically and psychologically. He has been put in and out of solitary 

three times now. The last time he was put in solitary was actually 

a few months ago a few days after we made that framework agreement with Iran, he was put in solitary again. 

I came to the United States 30 years ago and the greatest gift 

that this country gave me was the freedom to choose Jesus Christ 

as my lord and savior. And for that I am forever grateful. I felt 

safe. I felt I came to a safe place, a country that would protect me 

and would stand up for my freedom, especially for my religious 

freedom. And Saeed is in that situation right now. 

He refuses to deny his Christian faith and the Iranian Government continues to harass him and threaten him with more imprisonment. They have put him in and out of solitary to break him. I 

am not worried just about his physical pain, but his psychological. 

They are trying to—when they release Saeed, they want to make 

sure they release a very sick person and Saeed has held on to his 

faith and refused. But I am very concerned. I think time is of the 

essence. I just want to finish with this verse, if I can for a few minutes. 

A family relied on their personal relationship. When you are 

going through a trial, the dos and don’ts of religion can’t do anything for you. It is only a relationship with God through the price 

that Jesus Christ paid on the cross that you can go through the 

trials of life with peace and strength. No religion can give you that. 

It has to be a relationship with God. And I believe this is where 

the blessing of this nation came from and the freedom we have is 

because of the blessing that comes from our Lord, Jesus Christ. 

Our family has relied on this personal relationship to endure this 

pain and to overcome our daily worries and concern. I want to conclude with the story in the Bible that describes our current situation. It includes a fiery furnace, threats of death, and a Savior in 

the midst of it. It is the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 

And as you might know, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to worship other gods and they were told that they will be 

put in the fiery furnace. And they say, ‘‘O King, we do not need 

to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing 

furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue 

us from your power. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it 

clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your god.’’ And 

this is our situation. 

Saeed refuses to recant his faith. And they command the furnace 

to be heated more and in the end the king says, ‘‘I see four men 

unbound walking in the fire.’’ The fourth man was Jesus and Jesus 

has been with us through this fiery furnace. It has been excruciating pain and it has been difficult to even breathe most days. 

But I am here to say that Jesus has been with us through every 

second of it, with me and my family and that invitation to open to 

anyone who wants to receive Him. Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mrs. Abedini follows:]

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Chairman ROYCE. Thank you, Mrs. Abedini. 

Sarah. 

STATEMENT OF MS. SARAH HEKMATI (SISTER OF AMIR 

HEKMATI) 

Ms. HEKMATI. Thank you. Can you hear me? Mr. Chairman, 

Ranking Member, and members of the committee, thank you for 

giving me the opportunity today to testify about the arbitrary imprisonment of my brother, Amir. 

And in support of Congressman Kildee’s House Resolution 233, 

with your permission, I would like the opportunity to submit additional material for the record. 

Chairman ROYCE. Without objection. 

Ms. HEKMATI. This is the first opportunity our family has received in nearly 4 years of my brother’s imprisonment in Iran and 

we appreciate the time and effort that went into making it possible 

for me to appear today on Amir’s behalf. 

For over 3 years, our family has been living a nightmare. Every 

day we wake up hoping that it is the day we find out Amir will 

finally be released and is returning home. We are in constant fear 

for his health, his safety, and his life. The fact that Amir is the 

first American to be sentenced to death by Iran since 1979 adds to 

our fears. The fact that he has been held in Evin prison longer 

than any other American in history is emotionally draining. 

My parents came to this country not because they had to, but because they saw opportunities here that they wanted for their future 

children. My dad has a PhD in Microbiology and was a college professor and my mother an accountant, and it is in gratitude for the 

opportunities afforded to us as Americans that my brother Amir 

was proud to serve in the Marine Corps. 

I want to be very clear. While our family takes issue with the 

actions of a certain faction of the Iranian regime, we know this is 

not a reflection of the government as a whole nor of its people. Iran 

is the country of my parent’s birth, and as a family we were always 

raised to be proud of our heritage. 

It is this pride in our Iranian heritage and importance of family 

that led Amir to make his first trip to Iran in August 2011. It is 

a trip that thousands of Iranian-Americans make. I, myself, have 

made this trip twice. Amir had last seen our grandmother when he 

was a young child when she visited America. He felt it was his 

duty to visit her after all these years because she was too elderly 

to come to the US anymore. On August 29, 2011, only days away 

from his return home to Michigan, Amir was preparing himself to 

attend a family gathering. However, Amir never showed up. When 

our family in Iran went to the cousin’s apartment he was staying 

at, they could see the apartment had been broken into and a struggle had taken place. Amir was missing. Also gone were his computer, camera, and passport. Our relatives in Iran spent every day 

contacting officials, searching Tehran for Amir hoping to find out 

who took him, where they took him, and why. 

Two and a half months later, we found out that Amir had been 

imprisoned. At that time, both the Iranian and the United States 

Governments urged us not to go public with Amir’s imprisonment, 

asking that his imprisonment not go public and that it be handled 

19

behind-the-scenes. They both suggested that by going to the media, 

Amir would be put in more danger and his case would become 

highly politicized. Our family learned later that our silence allowed 

Amir to suffer the worst torture imaginable. 

As a sign of respect for both Iran and the U.S., Amir offered 

nothing but transparency when applying for a visa to Iran. He was 

assured that his past experience in the military would not be an 

issue. However, on December 2011, Iran reported that they had 

caught an American spy and my brother’s face appeared on Iranian-state television. 

Our family received no warning of this by Iranian officials and 

instead were faced with having to witness our brother be wrongfully accused before being allowed to defend himself in court. Days 

later, Amir was tried by Judge Salavati in the Revolutionary Court. 

Amir did not meet his court-appointed attorney until 5 minutes before his trial started. Relatives were not allowed to attend his trial. 

It was held behind closed doors and in only 15 minutes, Amir was 

charged with espionage, corrupting the earth, and waging war 

against God. By the end of the week, the media had announced 

without prior notification to our family in the U.S. that Amir was 

sentenced to death. He became the first American to receive the 

death sentence since 1979. 

In March 2012, an appeals court overturned the charges against 

Amir and annulled his death sentence, stating that there was insufficient evidence to let the conviction stand. A new trial took 

place in December 2013. That was when he found out he had been 

sentenced to 10 years in prison for cooperating with a hostile government, presumably because of his military service to the U.S. 

The conviction of this crime confuses us. Based on the Supreme 

Leader’s own mandate, service in a foreign military for a dual national is not illegal in Iran. Relations between the U.S. and Iran 

are at a historic point. Even according to Amir’s Iranian attorney, 

how can the U.S. still be considered a hostile country to Iran when 

we sit across from them at the negotiating table for the first time 

in decades? 

Iran wants to rejoin the international community, expand their 

tourism industry, and help their economy grow. What message does 

it send to Iranians who live abroad when Amir is held as an innocent man behind the walls of Evin prison for committing no crime? 

As a tourist, Amir was kidnapped from the home of his relatives 

and taken to Evin prison. As a tourist, he was held in a one meter 

by one meter cell, allowed out for only 10 minutes a week to stretch 

his legs. He was beaten on his feet with cables, tasered repeatedly. 

He was held for months in solitary confinement. 

To date, our family feels as though we have exhausted every option. We have reached out to the U.N., human rights groups, Islamic organizations, ambassadors from other nations and we have 

engaged with high level officials from the 

U.S. and Iran. Our only reassurance is being told by the U.S. 

that Amir’s case is being raised on the sidelines of the negotiations 

and our reassurance from Iran is silence, only to be told that Amir 

is an Iranian and that his case will be dealt with according to Iranian law. 

20

We thank Congressman Kildee and Senator Stabenow for their 

efforts on our behalf, particularly arranging a meeting for our family with Vice President Biden last month. We were very grateful for 

his time and the compassion he showed my father and our children 

who are 5 and 7 years old. After our meeting, Vice President Biden 

tweeted about Amir. It was the time some public mention had been 

made. 

Our family is under no illusion that there are things we cannot 

be told about the effort the government is undertaking on Amir’s 

behalf, but it does not make sense to our family how previous 

American prisoners in Iran have been released when the United 

States had no diplomatic relations with Iran and were not sitting 

across the negotiating table much sooner than Amir. 

Now is the time that this issue could and should be resolved and 

yet August will mark 4 years Amir has been taken from our family. 

And that brings me to my final point. Our father has terminal 

brain cancer. Within the last year, he has suffered several strokes. 

Our father now requires 24-hour care. My mother could not be with 

us today. She is with my father right now and she misses her son 

very much. Our father holds on, hoping to hold Amir in his arms 

again, but fearful that he will not. And he now resides in a wheelchair needing assistance for everyday things you and I take for 

granted. The father Amir left behind to visit his relatives in Iran 

is no longer the same man now. We ask you to please do all that 

you can to help fill this chair and bring Amir home. Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Hekmati follows:]

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Chairman ROYCE. Thank you, Sarah. Daniel. 

STATEMENT OF MR. DANIEL LEVINSON (SON OF ROBERT 

LEVINSON) 

Mr. LEVINSON. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My name is Daniel 

Levinson and I am the eldest son of Robert Levinson who was 

taken hostage on the Iranian island of Kish on March 9, 2007. Unlike the other three Americans currently imprisoned in Iran, the 

government has never acknowledged arresting him. The closest evidence of this appeared less than 3 weeks after he went missing, 

when the Iranian state-sanctioned media outlet PressTV reported 

that he was ‘‘in the hands of Iranian security forces’’ and could be 

‘‘freed in a matter of days.’’ Three thousand seven days later, we 

are still waiting for him to be released and returned home to us. 

My father is the longest-held hostage in American history. No 

U.S. citizen has been held overseas longer than he has, ever. Our 

family’s hearts break for the other families here, who have suffered 

the wrenching agony of having their loved ones away from them for 

so long all of these years. Yet my father has been held four and 

a half longer than any of the others. No family should ever have 

to go through what we all are going through. 

To say these past 8 years and 3 months have been a nightmare 

would be an understatement. I am one of my parents’ seven children, and my mother, who is here with us today, just marked their 

41st wedding anniversary last month. My father has missed so 

many milestones: The births of three grandchildren, two weddings, 

numerous high school and college graduations. To put it simply, he 

has missed too much of our lives. 

There is not a day that goes by when we don’t think of him, how 

much he must be suffering, and what we can do next to bring him 

home. In November 2010, we were emailed a 1-minute video of my 

father from an anonymous email address where he looked gaunt, 

ill, and desperate. The last words we heard from him in that video 

were ‘‘33 years of service to the United States deserves something. 

Please help me.’’ Six months later, we received several pictures 

from another anonymous email address where he held various 

signs in broken English that appear to have been produced by his 

captors in order to taunt the United States Government. We are 

extremely worried about his health. He is 67 years old, with several pressing health concerns including diabetes, hypertension, and 

gout. 

My father had a long career serving the United States. He was 

still a contractor for the U.S. Government at the time of his capture, and therefore the U.S. has a moral obligation to help bring 

him home. 

We have sought help through numerous heads of state, Presidents, prime ministers, foreign ministers, NGOs, private citizens, 

and religious leaders here and around the world, to no avail. My 

mother, aunt, and I even traveled to Iran in 2007 to meet with officials there, but the trip ended with no progress made on his case. 

This has been a bipartisan effort spanning two U.S. presidencies, 

with lawmakers from both parties working to bring him home. We 

are eternally grateful for the efforts of members of this committee, 

including Congressman Ted Deutch, who represents our home disVerDate 0ct 09 2002 16:39 Jul 23, 2015 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\_FULL\060215\94833 SHIRL
27

trict in Florida, and Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who 

have continued their efforts to highlight my father’s case on the 

House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on the Middle East and North 

Africa. Senator Bill Nelson has been our staunch advocate and has 

given us voice to the powerful. However, my father is still not here 

with us. 

We were encouraged by the election of Iranian President Hassan 

Rouhani, and the appointment of Javad Zarif as foreign minister. 

They have sought active engagement with the United States on a 

number of issues, but to our knowledge, have not engaged on the 

topic of my father’s capture in their country. 

My family believes this engagement is by far our best opportunity to bring my father home safely, and we need American officials to ramp up this engagement as they meet in the next few 

weeks over Iran’s nuclear program. We need, in fact, we implore 

negotiators to take a more aggressive approach than merely asking 

for Iran’s help in locating him. It is true that those involved in the 

talks may not know where my father is, or what happened to him, 

but we are certain that there are people in Iran who do. We believe 

that, if the Iranian Government had the will and motivation to locate my father and send him home, they most certainly could. 

My family will never rest until our father is back home with us, 

and we can only hope the members of this committee, along with 

those involved in discussions with Iran, share that unwavering 

commitment. My father could be anyone’s father, or grandfather, or 

brother, or husband. He is all of those things to my family. He is 

an American. And America should not rest until one of its own is 

returned home to the family that loves him more than life itself. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Levinson follows:]

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Chairman ROYCE. Thank you. I will go to Mrs. Abedini and Ms. 

Hekmati for a question. I have read the reports on the torture in 

prison. What I am interested in right now is the mental well-being 

or the condition psychologically. If I could ask you about your husband and about your brother. 

Mrs. ABEDINI. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Actually, his mental 

condition is my biggest worry even though his physical condition is 

not very well. He doesn’t get very much protein or clean water and 

he is still suffering from the internal injuries. But his mental is—

him being taken in and out of solitary three times now, being put 

in exile prison, being put in a murderers’ ward, the continuous 

pressure they have tried—he is seen in early April. There was close 

to 50 prisoners in his prison that were executed in Rajai Shahr. He 

is continuously told that he should be given the death. He should 

be—because he is a convert, because he is a Christian, he is continually told he will never come out unless he denounces his faith. His 

family, his father who is visiting him in Iran right now is the 

greatest worry he has is his mental condition and the psychological 

games they are playing with him. My biggest worry as a wife and 

mother is the condition I will have to deal with when he comes 

home. 

Chairman ROYCE. Thank you. Sarah. 

Ms. HEKMATI. Similar to Naghmeh, she refers to psychological 

games. Amir has been strung along for nearly 4 years. He said that 

during his court appearance for the 15 minutes that it was determined he was worthy of being sentenced to death, that his attorney 

had reassured him that he could be acquitted and be released in 

a year max. At that point he was already serving 6 months. Now 

it is going on 4 years. 

He has been told things like his mother was killed in a car accident as a part of mental torture. At that time, he had no way of 

communicating to our family to even determine whether that was 

true or not. It has been a long ride for him to the point that he 

has become emotionally numb and just doesn’t really know what to 

expect any more. So we do really worry about his emotional wellbeing as well. 

Chairman ROYCE. Last week on the eve of the beginning of Jason’s so-called trial, Washington Post editor Martin Baron issued 

a statement that read in part: ‘‘It is worth recalling what kind of 

system we are dealing with. Jason was arrested without charges. 

He was imprisoned in Iran’s worst prison. He was placed in isolation for many months and denied the medical care he needed. His 

case was assigned to a judge internationally notorious for human 

rights violations. He could not select the lawyer of his choosing. He 

was given only 11⁄2 hours to meet with a lawyer approved by the 

court. No evidence has ever been produced by prosecutors or the 

court to support these absurd charges. The trial date was only disclosed to Jason’s lawyer last week and now, unsurprisingly, but 

unforgivably, it turns out the trial will be closed.’’

Mr. Rezaian, have you been able to have any communication 

with your brother? 

Mr. REZAIAN. I haven’t spoken to my brother since last July. My 

mother went to Iran and has been able to speak to him just recently. The trial did begin last week and it adjourned after 1 day. 

32

Chairman ROYCE. How are his spirits right now? 

Mr. REZAIAN. Well, I think that it has been very difficult for him 

to be so isolated. He is a very social person. I think we are thankful 

that there is a process that is moving along, but as we can see, we 

don’t know what will come out of it. He is happy that my mother 

is there. Although he is really concerned because neither his wife 

nor my mother were able to go to the trial when they started last 

week. 

Chairman ROYCE. What would be the duration this charge brings 

with it, what consequence? 

Mr. REZAIAN. You know, we have heard different things, but I 

think that it could be years in prison is what we have heard, possibly 10 years in prison or more. 

Chairman ROYCE. Were there any other thoughts that any of the 

witnesses would like to express at this time before I go to Mr. 

Engel? 

I thank you all for your testimony and we will now be going to 

Mr. Eliot Engel of New York for his questions. 

Mr. ENGEL. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And I 

want to thank all four of you for the courage you have and for your 

extraordinary testimony. I want to tell you something you already 

know. I see Mr. Kildee is here. There isn’t a moment that Mr. Kildee hasn’t stopped to talk to me about this case. He has been relentless. Mr. Deutch as well. Mr. Huffman. I just want you to know 

that we are all with you. 

We cannot imagine the grief you are going through. And our 

hearts are with you. We will do everything we can to bring them 

home. And that is why we are having this hearing because we hope 

that at this crucial juncture with less than a month to go before 

there is supposedly an agreement with Iran, this is the time to 

really bring forward the cases of your loved ones. This is the time. 

I must tell you that I feel so angry that at a time when we are 

sitting with Iran and a number of you alluded to this and mentioned this in your testimony, we are sitting with them to discuss 

a new arrangement between our two countries and they continue 

to poke us in the eye and continue to spit in our face. I don’t know 

how else to say it. It is ludicrous. 

Mr. Rezaian, your brother, at this juncture when we are a month 

away from perhaps having an agreement that they would dare to 

put someone on trial, in a show trial, it just infuriates me. It just 

infuriates me. While we don’t want to tie your cases to our talks 

because we don’t want Iran or others to bring in other issues, the 

fact of the matter is that it is just infuriating and outrageous that 

they would do this; that they would just spit in our faces. 

So I just want to tell you that we are not letting any of these 

four cases drop. We are united in trying to help you. And I want 

to just thank you, all four of you for your tremendous, tremendous 

courage. You know, if I let myself go, I would probably cry. That 

is how genuine all of you are. So thank you for your courage. 

Let me ask anyone who would care to answer, we want to obviously do everything possible to help bring them home and create 

that kind of atmosphere. When we question the administration, the 

President’s people, when we are briefed and we talk to them in private conversations, when we are briefed as a Congress, they tell us 

33

that they raise the issue of the American hostages each and every 

time they meet with the Iranians. Is there anything that you can 

tell us that has not been done that you would like to see us do or 

see the administration do? Is there anything more than we can do? 

I know having this hearing and us timing this hearing today is 

obviously something that we are attempting to draw attention to 

it, but is there something else that any of you think that we should 

be doing perhaps? 

Ms. Hekmati. 

Ms. HEKMATI. Thank you for asking that question because it has 

been our frustration and it is not very comforting to know that at 

this point and this juncture where we are at that it is just being 

raised. And our question consistently when we ask what the substantial response is from the Iranians is nothing very substantial 

other than in my case, for example, with Amir, that he is a dual 

national and they don’t recognize his American citizenship. So I 

don’t know how often, if this is being raised on a regular basis, are 

they just giving a flat response or no response or what is the answer that they are receiving? 

Mr. ENGEL. Thank you. I can tell you it would just be ludicrous 

and outrageous for us to have a deal with Iran that doesn’t include 

the bringing home of our hostages. You know, we all remember, at 

least if you are as old as I am, 1979, when we had these American 

hostages being held for more than a year and the whole country 

was riveted on it. And then finally they were brought home. Well, 

we want the country to be as riveted with your loved ones so that 

they can come home safely. So I just want to thank you all for your 

courage. 

And for me, the devil is in the details. I am going to see what 

the agreement is before I decide how I am voting, but it would just 

be ludicrous for us to pretend that it is business as usual. We are 

going to have a nice agreement with Iran. We are going to look to 

the future. We are going to have better relations and we are all 

going to hold hands and skip away happily and Americans are rotting in prison? That is not acceptable to me. And I hope it won’t 

be acceptable to this Congress. Thank you for your courage. 

Chairman ROYCE. Well, Mr. Engel, if I could offer one addendum 

to that, I think it would also be important, I talked to a young Iranian who recently came to this country over the weekend and she 

told me, I asked her about her experiences. She said her parents 

brought her here because she would start every morning with these 

chants in school, ‘‘Death to America, Death to Israel.’’ And she said 

this at home and her parents said, we are Jewish. We are concerned with the indoctrination. It is the indoctrination of children 

in Iran today which produces the types of jailers that want to torture those of other faiths. Or want to torture Americans. 

And I think it would be important that Iran cease this kind of 

indoctrination of its children, stop the process of poisoning the 

minds of the next generation because they are setting up a condition in which when they become jailers or they become judges, they 

treat other human beings this way. 

We go to Ileana Ros-Lehtinen from Florida. 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. And 

thank you for sharing your families’ stories. I can’t even begin to 

34

imagine the toll that this has taken on each and every one of you 

and your loved ones, but it is so important that you are here today 

and that you share the truth about what is going on in Iran inside 

this so-called moderate regime that we have got with Rouhani. And 

it is no secret that the human rights situation in Iran under 

Rouhani, who was selected by the Supreme Leader, has actually 

gotten worse and he continues to use your loved ones as pawns. 

The Iranian regime responds to strength and they see us as 

weak right now, but our American citizens must not have a target 

on their back when they go to places like Iran and anywhere else 

because of this perception by the Iranian regime of us being weak. 

And your loved ones are American citizens. We demand their immediate, safe, and unconditional return now. 

I wanted to ask you about these nuclear talks. Do you worry that 

when the negotiations and we know with this deadline, but it will 

go on, do you worry that our leverage will not be there or some of 

you believe that we should not be discussing your loved ones during these negotiations, that it is a separate item? 

So I wanted to ask your feelings about, your thoughts about how 

the nuclear negotiations and these talks impact the imprisonment 

or the disappearance of your loved ones. 

Mr. Levinson? 

Mr. LEVINSON. Thank you. I appreciate that question because I 

think it is very important and relevant to the current situation. My 

family has always been supportive of engagement with the Iranians. We do worry that regardless of the outcome of the deal, 

whether there is a successful deal, and there is improved relations, 

I don’t know if there will be a sense of urgency to get any of our 

family members home anymore because it would be propaganda 

win for both the regime and for us—I guess it is a win for the administration, but there is no urgency anymore to increase the pressure and this is a very pressing issue that has lasted years for 

most of us. 

I think if the talks fail and there is no deal, we could lose the 

engagement and the constructive talks that we are having right 

now. And those could cease and we are back to square one, particularly for my family as well. 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Thank you very much, Mr. Levinson. Ms. 

Abedini, I saw that you were agreeing. 

Mrs. ABEDINI. Yes, I agree. I think these next few weeks is a 

very crucial time. If we don’t get the Americans out, I don’t know 

when we will have more leverage. I agree with Mr. Levinson that 

either way, we lose if we don’t get the Americans out before an 

agreement is reached or not reached. We only have a few weeks 

left. And while we still have leverage, while the Iranian Government would still be motivated at some degree to release them. 

As I mentioned, as the family members have said, they are being 

held on bogus charges. There is no evidence. They are being held 

because they are Americans or because of their freedom of practice, 

freedom of speech, and religion. So I think this is a very crucial 

time. 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. I wanted to ask just in the minute remaining 

following up on Mr. Engel’s question, what more can we do in Congress? What more can the administration do? 

35

Mr. REZAIAN. Thank you for the opportunity and thank you for 

the concern for everybody. Not being a diplomat or a policy expert, 

I would say that the things that you are doing right now, bringing 

attention to the case, showing unanimity, and the bipartisan support that we have seen for this type of activity is certainly very 

helpful. 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Ms. Hekmati? 

Ms. HEKMATI. I was obviously again like Ali said, not from a policy expert, but maybe reaching out to bilateral governments that 

have a good relationship with the Iranians because they tend to resist any kind of interaction from the U.S. or the Swiss, for example, 

that were the intermediary before. So perhaps reaching out to foreign officials as well. 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Levinson? 

Mr. LEVINSON. I also agree that for us the most important thing 

is to keep it in the eye of the administration and the American 

public because in this day and age, this is a great hearing and it 

is going to generate news and we need that, but in a few days, people may forget about it and they will likely forget about it. And 

then, we are back to where we were. 

And so seeing the U.S. Congress, making this such a priority is 

crucial to all of us. We have a limited window right now with the 

engagement going on and if we can at least keep it up through that 

and past that until all of our family members are home, it would 

mean the world to all of us I know. 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Thank you. You are not alone. Thank you so 

much, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman ROYCE. Mr. Ted Deutch of Florida, ranking member on 

the Middle East Subcommittee. 

Mr. DEUTCH. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, first, I 

would thank all four of our witnesses for being here. I was reminded during your testimony of how much your four family members really reflect so much about what we value in our country. Obviously, the commitment to family that all four of you have expressed so powerfully. 

Mrs. Abedini, the role that faith plays for you and in our country. 

Ms. Hekmati, the story, the immigrant story that you described, 

your family coming, your parents coming to this country to provide 

opportunities for their children which is really also so much the 

story of our country and the service to our country that Amir 

bravely served as a Marine. Ali, freedom of speech and freedom of 

expression that we so often take for granted, it is impossible for us 

to do that as we listen to you talk about your brother. And as much 

as anything we are a nation that perseveres. And Dan, for 8 years 

and 3 months that you and your mother and your siblings have endured, you have persevered because 8 years and 3 months is just 

too long and he has missed, as you said, too much of your lives. 

And so I would ask, you have all been told, we have been told 

that these talks on the sidelines there is a focus on all four of your 

families. And you have answered what more should be done in our 

communication with our Government, other governments. I guess 

what I would ask you is to take advantage of this opportunity. If 

you were on the sidelines, if you were sitting with the Iranian foreign minister, what would you say? What would you tell them? 

36

Please, Mrs. Abedini? 

Mrs. ABEDINI. I would say no more discussions until first you release the Americans, and then we will talk further. 

Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Rezaian? 

Mr. REZAIAN. I think I would have to ask what do they think 

they are accomplishing? What are they doing to their own image 

if they want to join the community of nations which is their stated 

goal, become more normalized. How do they think that this helps 

them at all? 

Mr. DEUTCH. Ms. Hekmati? 

Ms. HEKMATI. That is a tough question. I think just really trying 

to understand what leverage does these civilians who have no clout 

or leverage in winning over any kind of concessions for Iranians or 

with the United States. They need to be removed from this. So 

really just trying to understand what leverage they have. 

Mr. DEUTCH. Dan? 

Mr. LEVINSON. That is also a very tough question for us because 

we are just desperate for anything, any kind of answers, any acknowledgment that he is there, anything that will provide us, give 

us hope. So that would be the first start. We have been reaching 

out for that for years and we are just—we want anything. 

Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Chairman, I would just finish by telling all of 

you, starting with you, Dan, we share your unwavering commitment to bring your family members home. And Ali so that Jason 

and Paxton can see an A’s game this year. Naghmeh, so that you 

can bring your children’s daddy home. Sarah, so your father, especially, has an opportunity to embrace his son. And Dan, so at this 

point, so you and your mother, Christine, your entire family, no 

longer have to celebrate milestones without your father. 

I would finish just by telling again to all four of you that we will 

continue to be your advocates and bring your family members 

home will continue to be a priority for Congress. We will continue 

to press to make sure that it is a priority for the administration, 

but I want to thank you for your willingness to come here today 

to testify because I think, Dan, you are right. We sometimes—we 

have a short attention span in this country, but it is impossible to 

hear the four of you share in the most personal terms the impact 

of the fact that all four of you are missing your family members 

without being moved by it. And so I am sure that after today, the 

American people will continue to stand by you, as we will, until 

your family members are brought home. We are so grateful for 

your participation. 

Mr. Chairman, I yield back. 

Chairman ROYCE. Mr. Chris Smith of New Jersey. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And I, too, 

want to thank our very distinguished witnesses, very powerful testimony on behalf of a son, a brother, sister, and of course, a husband. Hopefully, the Iranians are listening. It is still a country in 

relatively good standing at the United Nations and I would be wondering if any of you would like to speak to how well or poorly the 

U.N., the Human Rights Council or Ban Ki moon, for example, has 

he raised each or any of your cases personally with Rouhani and 

other high officials in the Iranian Government? 

37

I met with Zarif some years ago on behalf of Saeed Abedini and 

he commented to me and a few others who were in that meeting 

that this is different than Ahmadinejad’s government, that 

Rouhani is different. And I said if you want to really demonstrate 

that difference, the bold stroke is human rights. Start with the 

Americans, Mr. Levinson. How many days, 3,000 days? It wasn’t 

3,000 then, but it certainly was thousands. Release the Americans. 

And we will say a new page has been turned and that Iran is on 

a different trajectory than it has been on in the past under 

Ahmadinejad. 

Sadly, and with great tragedy, it seems it has actually gotten 

worse when it comes to human rights and the holding of four innocent Americans, the torture, the mistreatment is absolutely appalling and brings dishonor to the country or the government, not the 

country, and not the people, but the Government of Iran. 

And so I would tell you, your testimony by the grace of God will 

be heard by the ears of the Iranian leadership and Zarif and others—I mean Zarif was educated in Denver and in California. He 

knows Americans. He knows that human rights do matter and he 

talks a good game. It is about time he showed it with his actions. 

So my comments to you, we will persist on. Mr. Levinson, you 

pointed out that we need to keep this in the eye of the administration. Hopefully, they will keep it in everybody else’s eye. This is 

something that should be talked about, discussed, not on the 

fringes and on the sidelines of the negotiations, but as a mainstay 

issue and whether the negotiations on nuclear issues succeed or 

fail, we will be there, I believe, as a Congress and hopefully, the 

President tenaciously pushing for the release until that happy day 

does arrive. 

Mrs. Abedini, you have mentioned that you have been to the European Parliament and the Bundestag. You might want to elaborate on how well received you were there, because obviously the 

European countries are very involved with the nuclear talks and 

they do care about human rights. 

And again, if any of you have any insights on whether or not the 

U.N. has been feckless and ineffective or whether or not they have 

embraced each or any of your cases, your family cases with the Iranian Government. 

Mrs. Abedini. 

Mrs. ABEDINI. Thank you, Congressman Smith. The U.N., I have 

spoken before the U.N. and I know Ban Ki Moon has raised that 

case with the Iranian Government. Recently, the working group of 

the United Nations released the report saying that Iran is breaking 

its own laws and international laws by holding Saeed in prison and 

they should compensate every day of his imprisonment. So the 

U.N. has continuously spoken out about Saeed’s imprisonment. 

Many countries at the U.N. have spoken out. 

My recent trip to the European Parliament was very helpful. One 

of the Vice Presidents took Saeed on as a political sponsor and I 

was assured by many high officials at the European Parliament 

that Saeed’s case would be raised, especially their foreign relations 

committees and their human rights committees were very involved. 

My trip to Germany and Berlin was very helpful. I met with Mr. 

Kauder who was one level down from the Chancellor and he was 

38

very helpful in making sure that Saeed’s case is not only raised in 

the next few weeks during the talks, but also that Saeed’s case is 

raised continuously with Iran and their human rights issues. 

I got to also meet with the head of the human rights group in 

all of Germany and also the Iran section and it has been very helpful both with the European Parliament and the German Parliament working with their foreign relations and their religious 

freedom or their human rights group. It was very helpful. I received a lot of commitments and promises to advocate not only for 

Saeed, but also for religious freedom and human rights issues in 

Iran. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you. I see I am out of time. 

Hopefully, the Special Rapporteur also raised it with the Iranians. 

Chairman ROYCE. Thank you, Mr. Smith. Mr. Lowenthal? Mr. 

Lowenthal is going to pass. Mr. Keating. Mr. Keating will pass. Mr. 

Kildee. 

Mr. KILDEE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and again, thank you 

and ranking member for allowing me, a person who is not a member of the committee, to participate in this important hearing. 

First of all, the committee will take up a resolution that will call 

for the immediate release of Amir Hekmati and the others. Amir 

is my constituent, somebody that I feel—though I have never met 

Amir, I have become very close with the Hekmati family and I feel 

as though I know him. And if he is anything like you, Sarah, or 

your parents, it is no wonder that he has been able to sustain himself in nearly 4 years in one of the worst places on earth. The 

strength, the will that you demonstrate, obviously is something, 

and the other family members demonstrate, is something that your 

family members obviously share. 

We have over 160 Members of Congress that have co-sponsored 

this resolution and at a time, we have to acknowledge this, at a 

time when there is very little agreement often on big questions 

that we are trying to wrestle with here in Congress, it is really important that this Congress speak with one unified voice on behalf 

of the millions and millions of people that we all represent and 

make sure that Iran hears loud and clear that they cannot be accepted into the international community if they continue to hold innocent Americans who are guilty of nothing other than being 

Americans against their will, for whatever political purposes they 

think they are achieving. 

And so I thank the chairman and the ranking member for working with me to present this language to the committee. And I hope 

other members that have not yet signed on will do so and that we 

can get a resolution to the floor as soon as possible. 

One other point that I would like to make and then I have a 

question or two. The P5+1 negotiations, the nuclear negotiations 

with Iran do provide something that we have not had in 35 years 

and that is the opportunity for direct, acknowledged, direct bilateral discussions between Iran and the United States. But I do 

think that it is important and I have heard loud and clear some 

of the comments made by other members and I share the frustration, but I think it is really important that we make it clear that 

the onus is on Iran to release these Americans if they expect any 

39

negotiated agreement or any other engagement with the rest of the 

world to be taken seriously. 

And I say that to especially underscore the point that the freedom of Mr. Rezaian, Mr. Abedini, Amir Hekmati, Mr. Levinson, the 

freedom of these innocent Americans should not be exchanged for 

any concession regarding Iran’s nuclear capabilities or any reduction in economic sanctions that have forced them to the table. Iran 

must act unilaterally if they expect any agreement or any engagement to be taken on face value. So I think that is an important 

point and it is important that we understand this moment provides 

us the chance to engage Iran on this question, but that we not 

conflate the freedom of these Americans with the items that are 

being negotiated regarding those nuclear capabilities. 

No American, and I know Amir feels this way, wants to be exchanged for something that we would grant to Iran regarding their 

ability to threaten the safety of the rest of the world. Iran must act 

unilaterally and the U.S. must continue to press that point. I think 

that is a really important distinction. 

For me, as many of the members know, this has sort of become 

personal and I hope that that is the case for other members. I 

know it is for the other members that represent the families here, 

but I hope for all members we look at this as a personal mission. 

These are American citizens. These are people who are part of us 

and we need to do everything we can. We need to press Iran and 

press our administration to be as strong as we possibly can. 

Sarah, I wonder if you might talk to us a little bit about the contact that you—I know there has been occasional, not much, occasional contact, but there was some discussion about how Amir is 

doing. Can you expand a bit on how he is doing physically and 

emotionally? I know the last few months especially have been particularly trying for Amir. If you could just tell a little bit more of 

his story in terms of how he is doing now, I think that would be 

helpful. 

Ms. HEKMATI. You know, it is a testament to Amir’s character to 

note that Amir, when he learned that my father was diagnosed, it 

was late in the game. My father was already diagnosed with cancer 

and was undergoing treatment and Amir had no idea. We did not 

have any contact with Amir for the first 2 years, no phone calls 

were allowed. We were not allowed to send letters. However, as of 

this past year, he has been allowed short phone calls. They are 

sanctioned phone calls, obviously. My mother is the primary person 

that receives the phone calls and he has his moments of hope when 

he hears that there is new developments in the political climate between the U.S. and Iran and then sometimes that hope falls. Obviously, he is always cautiously optimistic, but holding his breath because he knows that he has been strung along for now going on 4 

years. 

And you know, it is just a testament to him as much as this is 

really—you know, he has referred to his situation in some instances as he has died 100 times in this situation, so much so that 

he has become numb and just hardened himself to the fact that he 

doesn’t know. Like he has to kind of resign to maybe he is stuck 

here for 10 years. He doesn’t want to hold that in his mind. He 

wants to have hope. So we want to be able to give him hope, but 

40

it is almost psychological torture for our family to have his phone 

calls every day for 5 minutes and then to say what is new? And 

there is nothing new for us to give him. It has been painful for him 

and for us as well. 

Mr. KILDEE. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman ROYCE. Thank you. Mr. Dana Rohrabacher of California. 

Mr. ROHRABACHER. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and I 

thank the witnesses. I thank you personally, Mr. Chairman, and 

Ranking Member Eliot Engel for providing leadership in issues like 

this that you both continue to make us proud to serve on this committee. 

I was in the Reagan White House during the Iran Contra fiasco 

and it started with concern about hostages being held by radical 

Islamists and a negotiation with the mullah regime to try to get 

them free. That turned into an absolute fiasco and we should have 

learned our lesson and you do not negotiate with the Iranian 

mullah regime as long as it is holding the hostages. And if you say 

we will not be negotiating with you, that will give them some reason to actually let them go. 

I don’t think that they pay any attention to the expressions of 

sympathy and solidarity that we have heard today. They don’t care 

what we say here. They don’t care what we think, as long as we 

don’t have some action behind what we are talking about. 

Now I support this resolution. I think it is a first good step. And 

I thank our leadership for bringing it forward and focusing the attention of this committee on this issue. I would hope that when we 

get done, however, that my colleagues would join me and our leadership would work with me on legislation that would suggest that 

if the mullah regime continues to hold these hostages, and we consider it an illegal holding of hostages, that any representative of 

the mullah regime that goes outside the borders of Iran would be 

susceptible of being taken into custody and held until the hostages 

are free. Maybe they would listen to that. Maybe they would be—

if we arrested one of the leaders that is responsible for holding 

your families and held them, saying you are engaged in blackmail. 

You are engaged in an activity that we consider to be illegal, then 

you will be held until those people are free, until your government 

has changed its policy. We have to do something like that or they 

will not pay attention. 

And one last thing about the negotiations we have had, the fact 

is that the negotiations we have had with the mullah regime and 

thinking how important it is for this nuclear agreement, even 

though we realize if we make an agreement with them on this nuclear facility so that it can’t produce the material for a nuclear 

weapon, even if we get that, they can buy a nuclear weapon. They 

can buy it. Twenty-five million dollars, they go to Pakistan or 

North Korea or whatever. But what these negotiations have done 

have prevented us from being tough on issues like this, where we 

should be tough because it means something. So I again thank the 

chairman, I thank the witnesses for bringing this to our attention. 

I hope that we actually get together now, now that the leadership 

has brought up the issue, put it on the table. I hope we come up 

41

with a solution that is going to get their attention and force decision making by the mullah regime. 

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you to the witnesses. 

Chairman ROYCE. Thank you. We go now to Robin Kelly of Illinois. 

Ms. KELLY. I don’t really have a question. I just want to thank 

you for coming here and sharing your stories with all of us. I really 

appreciate that and I hope that something can be done where your 

relatives are freed. And I just want to thank Representative Kildee 

for his leadership in this effort. So thank you for being here. 

Chairman ROYCE. Mr. Michael McCaul of Texas. 

Mr. MCCAUL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank the 

witnesses. I was a Federal prosecutor for many years and we have 

due process in this country. We have freedom of religion. And I 

look at these charges and I mean it is unreal. 

Ms. Abedini, your husband’s crime was attending peaceful church 

gatherings for, as you put it, believing in Jesus Christ is a threat 

to the national security of the Iranian Government. I just find that 

astounding and for that belief, he is thrown into prison. What does 

that say about our negotiating partner? Are they really acting in 

good faith? 

And Ms. Hekmati, your brother being put in a one meter by one 

meter cell and beaten and tortured, I can’t imagine what he is 

going through. And I know you think about it every day of your 

life. And what is his crime? Corrupting the earth and being an 

enemy of God? Cooperating with the United States? What kind of 

charge is that? 

And now all the while we are doing these negotiations, it seems 

to me, Ms. Abedini, as you mentioned, now is the time to increase 

the pressure to release these American hostages. Now is the time 

we have the negotiations and I would argue you are absolutely correct. We should halt these negotiations until these prisoners are released. We should stop the negotiation until they agree to release 

our American hostages first and foremost. But I am afraid that is 

not going to happen. 

I am concerned also about what are we doing to facilitate the release of your loved ones. We have had witnesses come before this 

committee from the administration that talk about this issue, but 

we get very little information. I wanted to just ask each one of you 

what has the administration done to further the release of your 

loved one? And I will start with Mr. Rezaian. 

Mr. REZAIAN. Well, I think I am fortunate because it is possible 

the administration learned some things from some of the previous 

situations. I have been in touch with State Department. They have 

spoken with the Iranian Government. They have worked with the 

Swiss protecting power as well, although the Iranians won’t give 

Jason access to consulate access. So those kinds of things. 

And they have been in touch on numerous occasions. When I 

have questions, I am able to contact them. 

Mr. MCCAUL. Ms. Abedini? 

Mrs. ABEDINI. I have been in contact with the State Department 

regularly. They share with me, as Ms. Hekmati has mentioned, 

that they are being discussed on the sidelines and the Iranians are 

42

not really responding to that. And if we continue this talking for 

the last 3, 2, over 21⁄2 years, almost 3 years of talking on the sidelines, it is not really working. Still they are not released. It has 

been almost 3 years for our family and in a few weeks it will be 

3 years since we have seen Saeed. 

My frustration is that I appreciate that they are being discussed 

on the sidelines, but they are still not home. Where is the action? 

Where are the results? I don’t see any result. Iran continues to 

shrug it off and not really respond to our discussions on the sidelines. As I mentioned, this is crucial time. Iran has to feel some 

pressure to want to release the Americans. They are not going to 

do it through sideline discussions and just chit-chatting. I hope 

there is some pressure as this is a crucial time to bring these 

Americans home. And the pain and suffering of all of our families. 

Even one day, we would appreciate it. 

Mr. MCCAUL. American hostages should be the priority, not be 

placed on the sidelines. 

Mrs. ABEDINI. Exactly. 

Mr. MCCAUL. Ms. Hekmati? 

Ms. HEKMATI. Right, just to chime in with the rest. It pretty 

much has been a lot of our family informing them of what has been 

going on and the process in Iran and then being reassured that it 

is a priority and that it has been raised. Obviously, they have done 

some facilitating of engagement with governments that are bilateral, have a bilateral relationship with the U.S. and Iran and 

reaching out to them. And they have reassured us that they have 

these nations. Whenever there is an opportunity to engage with the 

Iranians that they reach out and they ask about the cases of the 

prisoners being held there. 

However, again, I reiterate prior to us even having this face-toface engagement, these prisoners that were American that have 

been released have never been held as long as, for example, Amir, 

and he is going on 4 years where we are sitting face-to-face. So I 

am wondering how effective is this raising of it on the sidelines of 

these negotiations really at this point? And I think that we are beyond that. 

Mr. MCCAUL. I see that my time is expired, but Mr. Levinson, 

just very quickly. 

Mr. LEVINSON. I am afraid we are in the same boat because right 

now it has been on the sidelines, but for years we didn’t have any 

kind of engagement, so this has been progress. My father is a retired FBI agent, so we have been working very closely with the 

FBI, but they had limited powers in what they can do. 

I just want to note real quick in case someone—there are people watching this online in Iran, the FBI has offered a $5-million reward for the safe return of my father. So we would like that to be 

highlighted as well. 

Mr. MCCAUL. It is a good point. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman ROYCE. We go now to Mr. Matt Salmon, chairman of 

the Asia Subcommittee. 

Mr. SALMON. Thanks a lot. First of all, Ms. Hekmati, I just wanted to acknowledge the fact that your brother was born in Arizona 

in Flagstaff where I am from and a lot of prayers and thoughts are 

coming from Arizona. 

43

The other thing I wanted to comment on is that I think you have 

one of the greatest advocates in the universe helping you with 

Montel Williams. He is great guy. I have never seen a Marine in 

trouble that he didn’t step forward to bail out. Worked with him 

on Andrew Tahmooressi. And I just think the world of Montel Williams. He is an American hero. You have got the right guy helping 

you out. 

Ms. HEKMATI. We were all born in Flagstaff. 

Mr. SALMON. That is great. We love Flagstaff. 

Ms. HEKMATI. We do, too. 

Mr. SALMON. Mrs. Abedini, I just wanted to make a comment to 

you how moving your testimony of Jesus Christ was to me personally. You know, in some of my darkest hours in my life when I 

thought that there was nobody for me, he was. And when I was a 

young missionary for the Mormon Church in Taiwan, I had some 

cards printed up that ‘‘a true friend is one that walks in when the 

rest of the world walks out.’’ What I found in my life is he always 

walks in. I was very, very moved by your testimony. And I wanted 

you to know that I truly do believe also he won’t let you down. 

We do hold the cards, folks. We do hold the cards. We just voted 

a few weeks ago to require a vote by the Congress on any deal that 

the Obama administration strikes with Iran and I think we should 

state unequivocally both from the House and the Senate that any 

deal with Iran is dead on arrival that doesn’t include the release 

of these prisoners. That is what we should say. And we should do 

it either through a joint letter of Members of Congress. A number 

of us from the House and the Senate side, I think if we can achieve 

a critical mass saying that any deal is dead on arrival that doesn’t 

deal with this prisoner release. And I think that we say that I 

know right now it seems like the President wants a deal more than 

life itself on this nuclear thing which I am very, very skeptical 

about to begin with. But it seems like that ought to be the one fundamental thing that we can all agree on. If it doesn’t include that, 

it is done. 

Mr. Rezaian, I am curious about the charges of your brother. Do 

you have any idea of how the Iranian Government became aware 

of your brother’s American visa application submitted to the U.S. 

consulate in Dubai and the letter that he wrote to the Obama administration as part of a job application? Has there been any investigation how they were able to obtain that information that they 

are using as evidence against your brother? 

Mr. REZAIAN. Our assumption is it came from his computer. 

When they came, they took his computers, phones, all those kinds 

of things. So we believe that is where it came from. 

Mr. SALMON. I learned early in my youth when I was a little boy 

I got picked on by a bully in the school yard and the only thing 

that bullies understand is a punch in the nose. And I think that 

is how we have to deal with Iran. 

Look, on this deal that they are talking about that the President 

is negotiating, it means billions and billions and billions of dollars 

to these guys. The very least we can do is step forward and say 

any deal is dead without the release of these prisoners and I yield 

back the balance of my time. 

44

Mr. MCCAUL [presiding]. The Chair recognizes Mr. Duncan from 

South Carolina. 

Mr. DUNCAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am sorry. I am sorry 

the United States Government has failed you and your families. 

These prisoners are American citizens and that should mean something. It does to the men and women in this room and the United 

States Congress, the 160 plus people that have signed this resolution, the 90 people in the Senate that voted for a similar resolution. 

You know, I think about the fact that more attention was given 

to the Natalie Holloway disappearance in Aruba 10 years ago than 

has been given to your loved ones imprisoned in Iran. 

I want to take this moment to thank those that are around the 

world that are praying for you and your families. I join them in 

those prayers and ask that God will keep you from having that 

pain every morning that you have talked about, Mrs. Abedini. That 

God will comfort them wherever they may be, whatever jail cell, or 

situation that they are facing today, that they will understand that 

there are folks here in the United States that love them and care 

for them and are doing everything we can to effect their release. 

I agree with Mr. Kildee when he said that there shouldn’t be any 

quid pro quo here with negotiations with Iran over their nuclear 

weapon. That is an issue that America doesn’t want to see in the 

Western world and the free world doesn’t want to see Iran have a 

nuclear weapon. But if Iran wants to enter the international community and be taken seriously, they need to release these prisoners 

that were taken forcefully from an apartment of their loved ones. 

These are American citizens. 

We have seen the United States Senate pass by a vote of 90 to 

nothing, a non-binding resolution stating that the United States 

Government should undertake every effort, using every diplomatic 

tool at its disposal to secure their immediate release. 

We are getting ready to pass the same thing by a vote in this 

committee. I look forward to the opportunity to talking about your 

loved ones from the floor of the United States House of Representatives continuing to raise awareness. But this is a resolution. What 

can we do? You heard the gentleman from Arizona, Mr. Salmon, 

talk about we have tools at our disposal, pieces of legislation that 

give the United States Government leverage over this regime, leverage with more sanctions. We shouldn’t be lifting any sanctions 

until these prisoners are released because these prisoners are 

American citizens and that is what America is about. 

Congress still retains that ability. Do you believe that further 

legislative action is necessary? What more can we be doing? I am 

going to ask each one of you, what more can we be doing? 

Mr. Rezaian. 

Mr. REZAIAN. As I said before, I am not a policy expert. You guys 

are the policy experts. I am in favor of any kind of activity from 

you guys, from Congress, from the President and the State Department that would get Jason out as soon as possible. I will leave it 

to the experts to decide. 

Mr. DUNCAN. Ms. Abedini. 

Mrs. ABEDINI. I would say help bring my husband home before 

you consent to any deal. When you are reviewing the deal, consider 

whether they are home or not. Thank you. 

45

Mr. DUNCAN. I want to ask you real quick. You said you were 

in communication with the State Department. Do they call you or 

do you call them? 

Mrs. ABEDINI. They call me, both, when I have updates I contact 

them, but they contact me regularly. It has been very good communication, especially the last year. Again, it is always discussed on 

the sidelines and Iran continues not to respond. 

Mr. DUNCAN. That is good that they call you and you are not in 

the dark. I appreciate that. 

Ms. Hekmati, what more can we be doing? 

Ms. HEKMATI. I mean obviously in my limited knowledge of what 

you can do, I just think continuing to keep this in the forefront of 

this administration, especially when Secretary Kerry is engaged 

with them and what is the response and continuing to push and 

understanding what it is going to take to bring them home. I just 

don’t want this to be forgotten. 

I know when the hostages were taken in ’79, this was something 

we as a family have a countdown of how many days he has been 

in prison. I think that countdown needs to exist for all of the prisoners and it needs to be visible. 

Mr. DUNCAN. Thank you. Mr. Levinson? 

Mr. LEVINSON. As I mentioned, keeping it in the headlines is ultimately most important and we are just ordinary Americans and 

we are doing our very best, but you guys are the ones who can 

make the headlines. And I know in a couple of days, God willing, 

they get home in the next couple of days, but it is very unlikely 

that will happen. The next couple of days, when you get home and 

you see that it out of the headlines, think about what can you do 

to keep this in the public eye. What can you do to keep the pressure up on our Government to make sure it is not forgotten. 

I know I will go home and I will think about my dad all day, 

every day, and Americans won’t be doing that. And in a couple of 

days, can you remember our family members who are suffering 

over there and think about what they are doing when you are 

brushing your teeth, when you are at home with your kids, thinking about what they are missing out on. And if you guys have any 

power to remind everybody in the world what is going on, please 

use any tools at your disposal. 

Mr. DUNCAN. And it happens. And you all please know your 

loved ones have not been forgotten. Every day the floor of the 

United States House, someone goes to the floor with a 1-minute 

speech to remind Americans, and I want to thank the gentleman 

sitting behind you, Montel, for staying engaged in this. 

As I talked about, Natalie Holloway’s case, 10 years ago had all 

of this national attention. Where is the national attention for their 

loved ones that are in prison in Iran? Thank you, Mr. Chairman, 

for the leniency and I yield back. 

Chairman ROYCE [presiding]. Thank you. We go now to Mr. 

Randy Weber of Texas. 

Mr. WEBER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I thank you all for being 

here today and I have some real quick questions. 

Mr. Rezaian, when was the last time you spoke with your brother? 

46

Mr. REZAIAN. We spoke in July about 3 days before he was 

taken. He was planning to come on vacation to the U.S. 

Mr. WEBER. Mrs. Abedini, when was the last time you spoke 

with your husband? 

Mrs. ABEDINI. The Iranian Government hasn’t allowed any calls. 

His father visits him in prison every Wednesday. 

Mr. WEBER. But when is the last time you personally spoke with 

your husband? 

Mrs. ABEDINI. Before his sentence in January 2013, there was a 

sanctioned call for probably about 4 or 5 minutes. 

Mr. WEBER. So about 2 years, 4 months ago, give or take? 

Mrs. ABEDINI. Yes. 

Mr. WEBER. Ms. Hekmati, when is the last time you spoke with 

your brother? 

Ms. HEKMATI. Me, personally, a week ago, for 5 minutes. And 

again, I noted that he has been able to call almost daily for about 

5 minutes. 

Mr. WEBER. And Mr. Levinson, your dad? 

Mr. LEVINSON. March 8, 2007, 3,008 days ago. 

Mr. WEBER. Over 8 years ago? 

Mr. LEVINSON. Yes. 

Mr. WEBER. I hope the administration is paying attention. You 

all are real people with real lives and real pain. This is really bad, 

real bad, real serious. None of us wanted this. I don’t feel like we 

started this. This regime, and I will call them a thuggish regime, 

has started holding hostages in ’79 and for the administration to 

be negotiating with these thugs in my estimation is just real foolishness. 

I think and I appreciate my brother Duncan’s comments over 

here that somebody goes to the floor of the House daily with a 1-

minute to remind the American people how really bad this is and 

I appreciate his comments. 

I think Congress should get real serious. No agreement period 

until Iran releases the hostages. They want to re-enter the world 

community. We keep hearing they want to re-enter the world community. Well, if they want to do that, then they need to get real 

serious right now. I just hope that John Kerry, President Obama, 

and everybody on their team that is in the negotiation phase would 

quite frankly come to their senses and say if human rights isn’t everything, isn’t the main thing when you are dealing with this kind 

of regime, how can you trust them on anything else? 

And so I just hope and pray that our President and John Kerry 

wakes up and understands the dilemma that is before us today and 

how long it has been going on. Mr. Levinson, 3,000 days? 

Mr. LEVINSON. 3,007. 

Mr. WEBER. 3,007. This is unconscionable that we would be dealing with a regime like that. And if this hearing, if nothing else, if 

you all being willing to come out and through your pain and share 

with us, so that we can get some attention, if our President and 

our Secretary of State would pay attention and make this an issue, 

then we might be able to help bring your loved ones home and I 

pray real soon. 

And Mr. Chairman, I am going to yield back before my time. 

Thank you. 

47

Chairman ROYCE. Mr. Darrell Issa of California. 

Mr. ISSA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank our witnesses for being here today. Usually, when we have witnesses, 

their testimony is a series of complex facts. Today, very clearly 

your facts are pretty simple. We have a rogue nation that has been 

a rogue nation since 1979 when it took our Embassy in violation 

of all sensibilities in the global community, held them, blaming, 

pointing fingers at students when, in fact, it was the new government that took those hostages, those diplomats, many of them covered by international diplomatic immunity. 

Your loved ones are not covered by diplomatic immunity, but 

they should be covered by the sensibility of fair and honest trials 

and they are not. So you have this committee, I think, on an incredibly bipartisan basis support that we will, in fact, continue to 

use such powers we have, including resolutions and opposing the 

President’s normalizing of relations with Iran in any way as long 

as not just they do or don’t have nuclear ambitions, but they do or 

don’t respect the rules of the civilized community and whether that 

is unlawfully keeping your loved ones in various levels of detention 

support for Hezbollah and Hamas, the various global terrorism 

they have supported, or in fact, their continued attempt to destabilize country after country throughout the Muslim world. 

So like many of the members here, there aren’t a lot more questions to be asked of you. You have done a great job of explaining 

the plight of your loved ones. I do very much support the chairman’s effort to make it very clear that Iran has to change its ways 

in three ways: Abandon its nuclear desires; treat both their own 

citizens and their visitors with a level of respect and rule of law 

that they clearly do not at this time; and stop their attempt to destabilize countries in the world, but particularly within their region. 

And so, Mr. Chairman, I, too, will be yielding back, but I would 

ask if any of the witnesses wanted to add anything from their observations to things that we should be aware of in our deliberation 

here relative to Iran. Again, thank you. And I yield back. 

Chairman ROYCE. We go to Mr. Meadows of North Carolina. 

Mr. MEADOWS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank each of you for 

being here today and sharing your personal story. 

Mr. Levinson, today is the first day that I have met you, but I 

feel like I have known your family because Mr. Deutch on each and 

every hearing, he hasn’t missed one, has raised this particular 

issue with the Secretary of State, Mr. Kerry, sitting at that same 

table, he has done that. So I feel like I know your family. Honestly, 

I had to Google it the first time that he mentioned it, and shame 

on me for that. 

For many of you, this is the first time I have met you, but Ms. 

Abedini, it is not the first time for us. I just need to ask your forgiveness, because we have been working very hard to get your husband who is a U.S. citizen and his only crime was that he cared 

about other people. And this goes back many, many, many months. 

We met in New York. I met, at that particular time, with Foreign 

Minister Zarif, personally and raised this issue. We have had conversations. We have had hearings. We have talked to the State Department. And each and every time we wanted to make sure that 

48

we did no harm, that we were gentle in our negotiations to make 

sure that we didn’t create a worse situation for your family members. 

I have run out of patience. The time is now. The time must be 

now and we have heard these words from Mr. Kildee, who is advocating on behalf of a constituent. This is a bipartisan issue. It is 

not Republican or Democrat. We have come together. 

But we have failed many of you and what I want to make sure 

that is clear, the message to Iran today is in the late ’70s there 

were thugs and terrorists that took hostages and they wore ski 

masks and dark clothing. And the only difference today is that the 

terrorists and thugs wear suits and give the illusion of being international diplomats. That is not the case. 

So you have my commitment that I won’t vote for a deal. I will 

advocate tirelessly with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to 

make sure that no deal is signed until your family members come 

home. And it is a precondition of what we must do. It is not a sidebar. It is not a note that we are doing soft diplomacy. It is time 

for real, hard facts and it is time that we demand that U.S. citizens 

return home to their families. 

So you have my apologies for not being effective. I pray that 

there are no more birthdays, anniversaries, or holidays that are 

missed, until they come home. 

And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back. 

Chairman ROYCE. Mr. Lee Zeldin of New York. 

Mr. ZELDIN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And as I listen to Mr. 

Meadows, we are all reminded of the passion and emotion and investment that so many of my colleagues have toward this effort. I 

am honored to serve with them in moments like now where you see 

that kind of passion on both sides of the aisle, both Republicans 

and Democrats from all across America who want to be part of the 

successful effort to bring back your loved ones. 

I also very much appreciate the fact that you have gotten individuals with followings from around America to take up this cause 

to raise awareness because I think that is a key part of this effort 

is to raise awareness as to what is going on. It is hard to work your 

way through Twitter without coming across a hashtag 

#FreeAmirNow. I know that people like Montel Williams go on national TV to help the cause. I personally don’t believe the negotiations should have started without freeing your loved ones. 

The President of the United States believes in making good-faith 

concessions when he starts negotiations with other countries. The 

President of the United States made a slew of dozens of concessions 

before starting a negotiation with Cuba. Right now, our leverage is 

being negotiated away at the table and I am concerned with everything that isn’t part of the negotiation right now including returning your loved ones back to your homes so you can be able to start 

enjoying holidays together again. 

The President of the United States has this burden on him and 

I would greatly encourage him in his foreign policy approaching his 

last year and a half in office as he is negotiating with Iran to not 

only avoid negotiating away his leverage and his diplomats’ leverage to bring your loved ones home, but not to undercut and handicap whoever the next President of the United States is because if 

49

this President isn’t getting the job done, the next one is going to 

be faced with that burden and I want to do everything in my power 

because this cause really shouldn’t outlast this Presidency, but 

there will be challenges that the next President will be inheriting. 

So my personal opinion is these negotiations shouldn’t have started 

without that good faith concession being from Iran. 

I would like to also say thank you to Congressman Kildee, Congressman Deutch for their leadership on this effort. As I mentioned 

in a past hearing, actually I have more members, family members 

in Congressman Deutch’s district than my own down in Florida. I 

am Jewish. The pilgrimage for New York Jewish families to make 

the trip to Boca, that is going back to the homeland for us. But we 

are all uniting for a very worthy cause that hopefully we can come 

back here and have something great to celebrate. 

But the very real threat of negotiating away that leverage for 

this President, our diplomats, or the next, is something that we 

need to take very seriously. Because if Iran doesn’t have the incentive now when they are pursuing that $50 billion signing bonus, or 

the $140-plus billion that is following right behind it, as they are 

working to overthrow foreign governments, sponsoring terrorism, 

pledging—chanting ‘‘Death to America,’’ developing ICBMs, but 

there is no conversation that can be complete without talking about 

what is not part of the negotiation, without talking about United 

States citizens being unjustly imprisoned by the Iranian Government and those who love America. And that is a cause worth fighting for with as much passion, conviction as we saw Mr. Meadows 

have just now. Thank you for your efforts and thank you for all of 

your supporters for helping advance the cause. I yield back the balance of my time. 

Chairman ROYCE. Mr. Donovan of New York. 

Mr. DONOVAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just have two quick 

questions. As you heard when I was first introduced about 2 hours 

ago, this is my very first hearing and I just had a baby. I think 

about if someone had ever taken my baby, she is only 14 days old, 

what I would do to get her back. And I think about your loved ones 

and your loved ones are America’s children. We should do everything in our power to get your loved ones back. 

I just have two quick questions. I thought, Ms. Hekmati, that 

you had told us that you are informing the State Department of the 

process of your brother’s captivity, that it is not the other way 

around. 

Do each of you have someone from the State Department who is 

your liaison that you could call any time, day or night, to find out 

the status of your loved one? Do each of you have someone that you 

can do that with? 

And my other question was the four of you, your courage to come 

here, your tenacity to fight for the freedom of your loved ones is 

unequivocal. Are there other families that you are aware of that 

aren’t here who are suffering the same fate as you are? Are there 

other families that you are aware of who have loved ones who are 

being held captive that you are aware of? 

Mrs. ABEDINI. Many Christians, unfortunately, are being held 

captive or in prison in Iran. So I know a lot of families that are 

imprisoned simply because they are Christians. 

50

Mr. DONOVAN. American families? 

Mrs. ABEDINI. Not American, but Christian. 

Mr. DONOVAN. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield 

back my time. 

Chairman ROYCE. Any other members seeking recognition? Well, 

this then would conclude our hearing. 

Again, we want to thank the witnesses. We deeply appreciate 

you coming to Washington to testify today and we will be in contact 

with the family members as we continue our efforts. We deeply appreciate your courage and we are very, very sorry for what each of 

your families have been through. 

So at this point though, we have to conclude this hearing and we 

will now go to the markup on the resolution. If you would like to 

stay for that markup, we appreciate also your support for the resolution by Mr. Kildee which we are about to bring before the committee. So we stand adjourned for the hearing. 

[Hearing adjourned.] 

Chairman ROYCE. We meet pursuant to notice. I am going to ask 

that the committee to come to order and members to return here 

to the committee for the markup. 

We meet pursuant to notice to mark up a single resolution. The 

clerk will take her seat. 

I now call up House Resolution 233 expressing the sense of the 

House of Representatives that Iran should immediately release the 

three United States citizens it holds, as well as provide all known 

information on any U.S. citizens who have disappeared within its 

orders. Without objection, the resolution is considered read and 

open for amendment at any point. 

[The information referred to follows:]

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Chairman ROYCE. All members may have 5 days to submit any 

questions or extraneous material for the record. 

After opening remarks from myself and the ranking member, I 

will be glad to recognize any others seeking recognition and I will 

yield myself right now such time as I may consume. 

I again want to thank the family members who testified at this 

morning’s hearing. I also want to thank the author of this measure, 

Congressman Kildee of Michigan, as well as those members who 

continue to stress how important it is to this body and to the American people that these Americans come home. 

I am a proud co-sponsor of this resolution as are many members 

on this committee and this resolution rightly points out that if Iran 

truly wishes to engage constructively with the rest of the world, 

step one would be releasing these Americans and allowing them to 

be reunited with their loved ones. 

Last month, the Senate passed a similar resolution of a vote of 

90 to 0 and I look forward to the House taking up this measure 

with a similar show of unanimous support. And I now recognize the 

ranking member, Mr. Engel, for his remarks. 

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Chairman, thank you for bringing forward this 

resolution which, of course, I support. And thanks to the Members 

of Congress and in particular, Mr. Kildee, who as I said before has 

been relentless in this, talking to me all the time about this, and 

won’t rest until the hostages are all free. So thank you, Mr. Kildee 

for all your hard work. 

I want to also thank Mr. Deutch, Mr. Labrador, and Mr. 

Huffman, along with Mr. Kildee, who represent the families of the 

detained and missing Americans in Iran, for their leadership in 

pressing this issue and ensuring that these Americans are not forgotten, will never be forgotten until we get them home. 

I want to thank our witnesses for joining us earlier today. These 

men and women come from different walks of life, but what they 

share is the daily uncertainty about family members, all American 


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citizens, and we should stress that. This is about all American citizens, missing or detained in Iran. 

I wish we knew more about the conditions for these four Americans, but in these cases, Iran, as usual, isn’t playing by the rules. 

I can’t say that is a huge surprise. 

Mr. Chairman, typically, if an American were detained in Iran, 

our Swiss interlocutors would have access to them for consular 

services. In the cases of these three Iranian-Americans, Iran 

doesn’t acknowledge their dual citizenship, only their Iranian citizenship. This position runs roughshod over long, established international law. Without consular access, we can’t judge the health 

and welfare of our own people. The United States respects this access for Iranian citizens held here. Reciprocal privileges are the 

least they could provide. 

Sadly, Robert Levinson’s whereabouts are unknown as we heard 

in the testimony. I simply don’t believe that the Iranians have been 

forthcoming about his status. If he is indeed a hostage, he is now 

the longest-held hostage in American history. Some argue that we 

should tie Iranian cooperation on this matter to the outcome of the 

nuclear talks. I feel that way very often. It is absolutely ludicrous 

that we are negotiating with a government that is holding our citizens to languish in Iranian jails. 

We remain deeply concerned about Iran’s imprisonment of Americans and the lack of information about the whereabouts of Robert 

Levinson. This is a bipartisan concern. It doesn’t matter where you 

come from in this country or what your political affiliation is. We 

want to see all the hostages home safely to their families. 

I think it is clear from the emotional testimony we have heard 

here today that when it comes to these missing and detained Americans, Iran can do much more to help bring these Americans home 

to their families. 

So I am glad we are doing this hearing. Mr. Chairman, I thank 

you for doing this hearing. This has been a great, once again, bipartisan collaboration on the part of the Foreign Affairs Committee. 

And again, I want to thank our colleagues, particularly Mr. Kildee, for coming here and working with us in partnership and we 

are not going to stop until we get these people home. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman ROYCE. Thank you, Mr. Engel. Do any other committee members seek recognition to speak on this measure? 

Are there any amendments? Hearing no further questions from 

members, the Chair now moves that the committee agree that 

House Resolution 233, all those in favor say aye. 

[Ayes.] 

All opposed no. In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it and 

the resolution is agreed to and without objection the measure is ordered favorably reported and the Chair is authorized to seek consideration under suspension of the rules. Thank you, members, and 

we now stand adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 12:09 p.m., the committee was adjourned.] 

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