Sec. 2. United States policy on hostage-taking by the Government of Iran
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Congress finds the following: Since 1979 the Iranian regime has engaged in various destabilizing activities that undermine the national security of the United States and its allies and partners. Those activities include the hostage-taking or prolonged unlawful or wrongful detentions of United States citizens and lawful permanent resident aliens with significant ties to the United States. The Iranian regime has detained on fabricated claims a significant number of United States citizens, including Siamak and Baquer Namazi and Xiyue Wang, as well as United States legal permanent resident, Nizar Zakka, in violation of international legal norms.
The Iranian regime has not provided information on the whereabouts of or assistance in ensuring the prompt and safe return of Robert Levinson, despite repeated promises to do so, after he was kidnapped while visiting Iran’s Kish Island on March 9, 2007—making him the longest held hostage in United States history. The Iranian regime reportedly uses hostages as leverage against foreign investors to exact business concessions in foreign investment deals. The type of hostage-taking enterprise put in place by the Iranian regime is a crime against humanity and a violation of customary international law.
It is the sense of Congress that— the United States Government should fully utilize all necessary and appropriate measures to prevent the Iranian regime from engaging in hostage-taking or the prolonged unlawful or wrongful detention of United States citizens or lawful permanent resident aliens with significant ties to the United States, to include— the use of extradition to try and convict those individuals responsible for ordering or controlling the hostage-taking or unlawful or wrongful detention of United States citizens; and the use of the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center of the Department of Homeland Security to target such individuals; and the United States should encourage its allies and other affected countries to pursue the criminal prosecution and extradition of state and non-state actors in Iran that assist in or benefit from such hostage-taking to prevent such state and non-state actors from engaging in that practice in the future.
It is the policy of the United States Government not to pay ransom for the purpose of securing the release of United States citizens or lawful permanent resident aliens taken hostage abroad.