The US has blacklisted the Russian FSB and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intelligence service in connection with the unlawful detentions of US citizens.
This was stated in a Friday briefing by State Department spokesman Vedant Patel.
For the current administration, there is no higher priority than the safety of American citizens around the world, and Russia and Iran’s continued practice of wrongfully detaining American citizens is deeply troubling, a Patel said.
According to Patel, the United States has repeatedly called on Russia and Iran to release wrongfully detained Americans, but Moscow and Tehran have ignored those calls. On Thursday, for the first time, the State Department took advantage of an executive order based on the statute to prosecute those responsible for unlawful detentions and hostage-taking of American citizens abroad, and added to the list sanctions from the Russian FSB and Iran’s IRGC, Patel said.
“The United States will continue its tireless efforts to release American citizens held hostage or wrongfully detained and reunite them with their loved ones. Yesterday’s decision is one of those tools, and we will do everything to bring Americans home,” he said.
The State Department spokesman added that US officials were deeply disappointed that Russian authorities had denied a May 11 visit request from the US consul for Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, accused of espionage.
“We have made it clear that US citizens who have been wrongfully detained, like Evan, like (former Marine) Paul Whelan, are given proper consular access. And we will continue to push for that,” Patel said. “We will continue to call for the release of Evan and Paul.
Whelan. We have raised this issue directly with the Russian side, the State Secretary has raised this issue directly with his colleague, and we will continue to address this issue,” he added.
Patel declined to comment on possible additional sanctions, but noted that the United States has a number of tools “to hold accountable not only the Russian Federation, but also others who commit arbitrary detentions. and unjustified of American citizens”.
Commenting on the new missile attacks on Ukraine, Patel called them “the latest in a long line of examples of Russia’s arrogant disregard for Ukrainian civilians and Ukrainian lives.”
“We see again and again how (Russia) takes unbalanced and reckless actions related to its unjust war in Ukraine. The United States will continue to do everything possible to support our Ukrainian partners, to do everything to hold the Russian Federation responsible,” Vedant Patel said.
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