Trump promised his war would free Iran
It won't, but at a minimum he can secure the release of hostages and political prisoners held there.
What President Donald Trump initially billed as an operation to liberate the people of Iran has quickly devolved into threats to destroy Iranian civilization. With a wobbly ceasefire now in place, there’s a short window of opportunity for the United States to reassert those noble ambitions, nominal as they may have been. Trump should start by securing the release of the six U.S. nationals still wrongfully detained in Iran. All of them happen to be Iranian-Americans.
Although Trump has a strong track record of freeing Americans and other nationals held hostage around the world, Iranian-American dual nationals have been a blind spot across both of his terms. Several of them languished in Evin prison well into the Biden presidency before being released in 2023 as part of a hostage deal.
The moment seems ripe for this kind of deal.
Two French nationals held in Iran for over three years were released on Tuesday. On the same day, Shinnosuke Kawashima, Tehran bureau chief for Japan’s public broadcaster NHK, was released on bail, according to multiple people with direct knowledge of the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. Still, Kawashima is unable to leave the country and could face trial on bogus national security charges.
On the same day, American journalist Shelly Kittleson was freed in a prisoner swap after being abducted by an Iran-backed militia in Baghdad last week.
It is unclear whether Trump had much to do with any of these releases, but the ceasefire provides a moment to test Tehran’s willingness to compromise. Iran has previously released political prisoners to signal to the U.S. and other countries that it was willing to negotiate. Trump should demand freedom for many more of Iran’s hostages and political prisoners.
Two of Iran’s most revered activists, Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi and human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, are back in prison. These two women have spent years supporting the rule of law and advancing the democratic aspirations of Iranians, refusing to believe that their efforts would fail. Both have paid a terrible price for their bravery.
For many Iranians, the early days of the war offered a glimmer of hope. But when the government didn’t collapse as Trump seemed to expect, he escalated the attacks in a way that can best be described as spiteful.
On Tuesday, when Trump threatened that a “whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” it was a wake-up call for many who had initially supported his campaign in Iran. He is now squandering the trust that generations of Iranians have placed in the U.S. as a force for good.
Despite the deaths of thousands of Iranians and the destruction of civilian infrastructure and historical sites, it’s not too late for Trump to live up to his promises. Doing so would cost much less than he’s already spent on unnecessarily prolonging this war.