SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE CARE – Hostage negotiations are one of the most difficult political issues for a US administration to deal with, especially in light of a US policy of not negotiating with terrorists or paying ransom. So when the news has fallen that the Biden administration quietly talked to Tehran to negotiate the release of five Americans in exchange for five imprisoned Iranians – and that the deal would include the unfreezing of funds worth nearly $6 billion in Iranian oil revenues, political daggers were drawn.
Freeing the hostages would obviously be good news for the hostages and their families, but the deal is drawing political criticism for the multi-billion dollar financial aid it would bring to Tehran, already under stinging US sanctions mainly for his role in the murder. Americans overseas and the development of its nuclear program.
“The encrypted brief has become the most popular outlet for former intelligence officers; no media is even right behind The encrypted brief in terms of number of articles published by trainers. —Sept. 2018, Studies in Intelligence, Vol. 62
Access all The encrypted briefexpert opinion focused on national security by becoming a Cipher Brief Subscriber+Member.
