The family of Shahab Dalili, a 60-year-old American detained in Iran since 2016, has expressed feelings of betrayal following a recent prisoner exchange agreement.
The deal, orchestrated by the Biden Administration, secured the release of five other American detainees but did not include Dalili.
Dalili, a former trade ship captain who migrated to the United States with his family in 2014, remains in Iranian custody. His detention began after he returned to Iran in 2016 to attend his father's funeral. Despite assurances from both the Trump and Biden administrations that they were monitoring Dalili's situation, neither administration officially designated him as "wrongfully detained." This designation would have triggered a more aggressive response from the U.S. government to secure his release, as reported by CBS News.
President Joe Biden approved the prisoner exchange deal in early August. The agreement stipulated the release of five American detainees in return for the unblocking of billions of dollars in funds for the Iranian regime.
Darian Dalili, Shahab's son, expressed his family's disappointment to CBS News. "Why would those two unnamed prisoners who have only been there for a matter of months be included within the five-people swap? The designation is made for them? Good for them. Why is it so quick for them and so slow for my dad?" he questioned.
The State Department refrained from discussing specific cases but did provide some insight into their process. "Any time a U.S. citizen is detained overseas, we assess the circumstances of detentions and look for indicators of wrongful detention. When appropriate, we will make a determination if the indicators meet as such," said Vedant Patel, a State Department spokesman, during a press briefing on Wednesday, as reported by CBS News.
Darian Dalili also revealed that the family received a "very delayed outreach" from the Acting Special Envoy for Iran, Abram Paley. Paley contacted the family to establish a line of communication after news of the deal became public.
Darian accused officials of ignoring his father and leaving him behind in "very emotionally worded" emails to the State Department. Following this, he left his Massachusetts home to stage a protest in front of the White House and State Department in Washington, D.C., even embarking on a hunger strike. "I had to go protest and go on a hunger strike for my father to even be acknowledged," Darian stated, according to CBS News.
The detainees included in the deal could return home as early as September if Iran fulfills its part of the agreement. This information comes from a source familiar with the matter who spoke to CBS News, noting that the deal is "highly sensitive."
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