Iran’s Hostage Swapping: A Brief History

Middle East|A Brief History of Iran’s Hostage Swapping

On Saturday, Iran and Sweden exchanged prisoners. The swap had the quality of immoderate 2 countries engaged successful diplomatic negotiations to escaped their citizens. Families were elated; governments were relieved.

But the speech was lone the latest section successful Iran’s agelong past of what is known successful satellite affairs arsenic hostage diplomacy.

For much than 4 decades, since the 1979 gyration that installed a blimpish theocracy, the state has made the detention of overseas and dual nationals cardinal to its overseas policy. For Iran, the attack has paid off. For the world, it has been a troubling trend.

Iran’s demands person evolved on with its tactics. In speech for releasing foreigners it has asked for prisoners, assassins, currency and frozen funds. It has engineered analyzable deals involving aggregate countries. And connected Saturday Iran gained the merchandise of its astir prized target: the archetypal Iranian authoritative to beryllium convicted of crimes against humanity.

In the exchange, Sweden released Hamid Nouri, a erstwhile judiciary authoritative who was serving a beingness condemnation successful Sweden for his relation successful the wide execution of 5,000 dissidents successful 1988.

In return, Iran freed 2 Swedish citizens — Johan Floderus, a diplomat for the European Union, and Saeed Azizi, a dual nationalist Iranian. A third, a Swedish dual nationalist scientist, Ahmadreza Djalali, who has been jailed successful Iran and sentenced to execution connected murky charges of treason, was near behind.