The Costly Quest: The True Price of Rescuing American Hostages from Iran

Peter Bergen, CNN's national security analyst, a vice president at New America, a professor at Arizona State University, and the host of the Audible podcast "In the Room With Peter Bergen," is on the advisory council of the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, which advocates for American hostages. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own. Read more opinion at CNN.

Following the initial wave of excitement in the United States regarding the release of five wrongly held Americans from prison in Iran, the expected criticism of the deal that led to their freedom has already started, mostly from partisan sources.

Peter Bergen

Former Vice President Mike Pence, a contender in the 2024 Republican presidential primaries, rebuked President Joe Biden on Monday for releasing $6 billion of Iranian funds and securing the release of five American prisoners. Additionally, the agreement entailed the dismissal of charges against five Iranians who had been convicted of nonviolent offenses in the United States.

Pence's criticism of the Biden administration overlooks the fact that the $6 billion of Iranian funds rightfully belongs to Iran from its oil sales abroad. However, it's important to note that the unfrozen funds will be administered by the Qatari government for strictly humanitarian purposes in Iran, as confirmed by officials from the Biden administration. While it may be argued that this indirectly benefits the Iranian government, the primary beneficiaries are the Iranian people who have endured years of ineffective governance under the ayatollahs.

The unfortunate reality is that when authoritarian governments such as those in Iran, Russia, Venezuela, or Afghanistan unjustly detain American citizens, whom the US refers to as "wrongfully detained," the leaders of these regimes will not suddenly have a change of heart and decide to release them out of goodwill. Instead, they will demand a hefty ransom for their release.

10/01/2022 - Tehran, Iran - A gathering of individuals in Tehran, Iran, marks a protest in memory of Mahsa Amini. Amini passed away after being apprehended by the morality police for purportedly failing to adhere to the strict dress code. The event took place on October 1st, 2022. In response to this incident, thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets in the past two weeks to express their discontent. Amini, a 22-year-old woman, was detained in Tehran by the morality police for allegedly wearing her mandatory Islamic veil too loosely. (Photo: Anonymous / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by ANONYMOUS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

Iranian women have consistently demonstrated their ability to identify and engage in impactful struggles throughout the years. Given that the primary duty of the US commander-in-chief is to safeguard the well-being of American citizens, President Biden's decision to endorse the Iran deal was justified.

Four Americans released on Monday had been held in the infamous Evin prison, where torture is prevalent, as confirmed by Amnesty International. Among them, three men endured their captivity for over five years at the hands of the Iranians.

Siamak Namazi, an oil executive who was finally released after almost eight years, suffered greatly, enduring prolonged periods of solitary confinement, being denied access to medical care, and subjected to both physical and psychological torture, as attested by his lawyer.

Other prisoners who were released include Morad Tahbaz, who is an animal conservationist, and Emad Shargi, a venture capitalist. Two of the freed Americans have not been publicly named. Making a deal with a regime like Tehran poses the risk of "moral hazard" according to economists, as it may encourage the regime to capture more Americans.

Iranian athlete, Elnaz Rekabi, participated in the women's Boulder & Lead final at the IFSC Climbing Asian Championships in Seoul on Sunday, October 16, 2022. Following her participation in the event, Rekabi departed South Korea on Tuesday, October 18, 2022. Notably, she competed without wearing the mandatory headscarf, which caused speculation that she might have been pressured by Iranian officials to leave early and potentially face arrest upon returning to Iran. However, Tehran swiftly denied these claims, contradicting Farsi-language media reports. (Rhea Khang/International Federation of Sport Climbing via AP)

Rhea Kang/AP

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The publicity surrounding these types of prisoner exchanges is likely to discourage Americans from traveling to countries like Iran. Moving forward, it would be prudent for travel websites to reiterate the warnings issued by the US government, cautioning Americans about the potential dangers and wrongful detentions they may face if they choose to visit countries such as Iran, Russia, or Venezuela.

According to a recent report by the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, the majority of Americans currently held hostage overseas are now being detained by countries like Iran, instead of terrorist organizations like al Qaeda or ISIS as observed in previous years. The report reveals that out of the 59 known American hostages, over 90% are held by states, indicating a shift towards nations seeking leverage over the United States.

The Biden administration has made additional challenging decisions to repatriate American citizens. One such example is the exchange that took place between the basketball player Brittney Griner, who was detained in a Russian penal colony on minor drug possession charges, and Viktor Bout, a notorious Russian arms dealer.

Still, Bout insists that he has not resumed his previous occupation as an arms dealer following his 15-year stint in a US federal prison. Having been out of the game for so long, he is now engaging in local Russian politics, as he revealed in an interview with The New York Times published this month.

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President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.

Reuters, Getty Images

Opinion: How Trump orchestrated one of the most disastrous diplomatic agreements in American history, and Biden was tasked with implementing it.

Another difficult decision was the arrangement involving Mark Frerichs, an American contractor employed in Afghanistan, who had been apprehended by the Taliban. In exchange for Frerichs' release, the Taliban demanded the freedom of a convicted drug dealer named Haji Bashir Noorzai, who was serving a sentence in the United States. This release of Noorzai had long been desired by the Taliban, as they considered him a crucial ally; hence, he was warmly received as a hero upon his return to Afghanistan.

The Biden administration is expected to face additional challenges in resolving the case of Paul Whelan, a former US Marine who has been detained by the Russians since 2018 on charges of spying. Whelan has consistently denied these accusations.

Another case similar to Whelan's is that of Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal who was detained by the Russians in March. Gershkovich has been accused of collecting "information constituting a state secret," a charge that both Gershkovich, the Journal, and the US government refute.

No doubt Russian President Vladimir Putin will try to drive a hard bargain for the release of Whelan and Gershkovich.

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I believe that it is worth paying a high price to bring home Americans who have been wrongfully detained by rogue states like Iran and Putin's Russia. I commend the Biden administration for prioritizing the return of these individuals, just as the Trump administration did in the past. As an example, in 2019, the Trump administration successfully pressured the Afghan government to exchange three high-level Taliban officials for Kevin King, a US citizen, and Timothy Weeks, an Australian citizen. Both King and Weeks were professors at the American University of Afghanistan and had been held hostage by the Taliban for three years.

In 2019, Xiyue Wang, a student from Princeton University, was released from his 10-year imprisonment in Iran, where he was charged with spying. His release came in exchange for Massoud Soleimani, an Iranian scientist who had previously been found guilty of export violations in the United States.