Who are the U.S. citizens being held in Iran?

Washington Post – Feb 2nd 2022

Negotiations to revive the nuclear deal with Iran are “in the final stretch,” the United States said this week. The Biden administration has urged Tehran to roll back its recent nuclear advances and make “tough political decisions” that would allow both countries to return to the 2015 pact.

But even as the two sides potentially prepare to thrash out everything from U.S. sanctions to Iran’s uranium enrichment, at least one key issue has been left off the nuclear negotiating table: the fate of four U.S. citizens being held in Iran.

The United States insists that talks to secure the release of the four Americans are being pursued independently from the nuclear negotiations.

“We are negotiating on the release of the detainees separately from the JCPOA,” or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a senior State Department official said in a briefing with reporters Monday.

“But as we’ve said, it is very hard for us to imagine a return to the JCPOA while four innocent Americans are behind bars or are detained in Iran,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity under rules set by the State Department.

Here are the four U.S. citizens who are in prison in Iran or barred from leaving the country.