U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced the Department of State is designating Russian and Iranian security organizations for unlawfully detaining American nationals.
“Today, @StateDept designated Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Intelligence Organization for their involvement in wrongfully detaining U.S. nationals,” Blinken tweeted April 27. “Wrongful detention of Americans is unacceptable and has consequences.”
The FSB and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Intelligence Organization (IRGC-IO) each were designated for their involvement in detaining at least one U.S. national unlawfully, the DOS stated in a news release announcing the designations. The FSB has "repeatedly" orchestrated the arrest and detention of Americans wrongfully detained in Russia, according to the release.
The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) also sanctioned four senior officials in the IRGC-IO, the agency announced April 27, for participating in hostage-taking and wrongful detention of U.S. nationals in Iran. The designations include visa restrictions and asset freezes on the individuals and entities involved, according to the news release.
“Today’s action targets senior officials and security services in Iran and Russia that are responsible for the hostage-taking or wrongful detention of U.S. nationals abroad,” Brian Nelson, under secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said in in the release. “We are committed to bringing home wrongfully detained U.S. nationals and acting against foreign threats to the safety of U.S. nationals abroad.”
Stating the U.S. has "no higher commitment" than bringing home Americans who have been illegally detained abroad, Blinken said the DOS and DOT designations are "a clear and direct warning" of the consequences countries face for wrongfully detaining U.S. citizens.
"Russia’s and Iran’s continued pattern of wrongfully detaining U.S. nationals is unacceptable," Blinken stated in the DOS news release. "The United States will never stop working to secure the release of U.S. nationals who are wrongfully detained or held hostage and reunite them with their loved ones."
