Former Iran Hostage Announces Hunger Strike: ‘No Deal Unless Hostages Are Free’
One of the victims of the Iran hostage crisis is launching a hunger strike this week to pressure Washington and its allies to make the return of current hostages held by the Islamic Republic a precondition to any nuclear deal.
Talks to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers are currently ongoing in Vienna. Former President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the accord in 2018, accusing it of empowering Iran and only delaying its ability to develop nuclear weapons.
Barry Rosen, who was one of 52 Americans held hostage for over a year by militants who stormed the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979, announced in a video posted to Twitter on Sunday, “The hostage crisis hasn’t ended for many others, Americans and Westerners, who are now being held as bargaining chips in Iran. There are at least two dozen of them. It’s clear to me that the release of the hostages can only take place if the United States and countries like the United States pressure Iran.”
Rosen said he will travel on Tuesday to Vienna and stage his hunger strike there.
Read More: The Algemeiner