World
‘Hostage diplomacy’: a growing headache for the West
Sylvie Arnaud’s first feeling when she learnt her son Louis had been detained in Iran in September last year was sheer incredulity, followed by a raging sense of injustice and impotence.
“We don’t know how long this will last, we don’t know what the Iranians are waiting for and we will probably never know,” she told AFP.
Louis Arnaud, described by his family as a passionate traveller who simply wanted to see the world, is one of four French nationals held in prison in Iran.
He is also among at least a dozen Western nationals jailed in what campaigners and some governments describe as a deliberate strategy of hostage-taking by the Islamic republic to extract concessions.
But Iran is far from the only country accused of pursuing such a strategy, with the likes of China, Russia and Venezuela seen as holding innocent foreigners on trumped-up charges of espionage or other security-related allegations — people who simply had the misfortune to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Precedents have shown the prisoners are generally only released in exchange for something — either for other detainees or assets — forcing Western governments into the uncomfortable position of knowingly negotiating over hostage-takings.
Such negotiations are hugely time-consuming, painstaking, often conducted through intermediaries and, even if a deal is reached, can collapse at the last minute.
“At the beginning, I didn’t want to think that it was political. And time has now passed… without anything happening,” said Sylvie Arnaud.
Western governments have often made major concessions to secure the release of their nationals held abroad.
The United States authorised the transfer of six billion dollars in Iranian funds frozen in South Korea and the release of five Iranians to facilitate the release of five Americans jailed by Iran. After being released from prison, the Americans are now held under house arrest and should go home when the transaction is completed.
This exchange has already been criticised for not including two US residents: German national Jamshid Sharmahd who is facing the death penalty and Virginia-based Iranian Shahab Dalili who was arrested in 2016 while visiting Tehran.
At the end of May, Belgian humanitarian Olivier Vandecasteele was released after 15 months of detention in Iran, in exchange for an Iranian diplomat, Assadollah Assadi, who had been sentenced in Belgium in 2021 to 20 years in prison on terror charges for seeking to bomb an opposition rally outside Paris.
In October 2022, seven American prisoners held in Venezuela were released in exchange for two individuals close to President Nicolas Maduro.
Russia in December released basketball superstar Brittney Griner, who had been held since February 2022 on charges of possessing vape cartridges with a small quantity of cannabis oil. But only in exchange for notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout — known as the “Merchant of Death” –- who had been jailed in the United States.
Former US marine Paul Whelan, imprisoned in Russia for over four years, remains in a penal colony while Russia in March arrested another US citizen, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.
Etienne Dignat, professor at Sciences Po university in Paris, said governments faced a “dilemma”.
“By unfreezing assets and exchanging prisoners, they are in a certain way rewarding a crime and encouraging states to continue their hostage diplomacy,” Dignat, author of a book on hostage-taking, told AFP.
Daren Nair, a security consultant and campaigner who runs a podcast on hostage diplomacy, said the number of victims had risen in recent years.
“The majority of Americans held captive abroad 10 years ago were held by non-state actors in countries like Syria, Yemen and Somalia… Today, the majority of Americans held captive abroad are being held by state actors like Iran, Venezuela, Russia and China,” he told AFP.
He said that once nationals were taken, governments had no alternative except to negotiate with their captors — but said more should be done to thwart the strategy in the first place.
He argued the two ways to stop hostage diplomacy were to “punish the individuals responsible within these hostage-taking states and continuously raise awareness so your citizens stop travelling to these countries.”
“In general the only way to get a hostage home is to negotiate,” added Joel Simon, founding director of the Journalism Protection Initiative. “Other strategies –- such as rescues –- are rarely successful.”
“Unless we engage with hostage takers — whether they be states or non-state actors -– the hostage will probably be killed or will languish in detention or prison for an extended period.”
Blandine Briere never doubted the innocence of her brother Benjamin who was finally freed in May after being held for three years in Iran on charges of espionage. She recalled how the family felt plunged into an “impasse”.
“We discovered a world that was unknown in normal life,” she said, recalling how the family offered support but was “constantly walking on eggshells because we did not know if it can have a positive or negative impact.”
Gunfire and explosions rocked the Jenin area of the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, an AFP journalist reported, as the Israeli military kept up a large-scale raid for a second day.
The operation, launched just days after a ceasefire paused more than a year of fighting in Gaza, has left at least 10 Palestinians dead, according to Palestinian health authorities.
Israeli officials have said the raid is part of a broader campaign against militants in the West Bank, citing thousands of attack attempts since the Gaza war erupted in October 2023.
“The situation is very difficult,” Jenin governor Kamal Abu al-Rub told AFP.
“The occupation army has bulldozed all the roads leading to Jenin camp and to the Jenin government hospital… There is shooting and explosions,” he added, referring to the Israeli military.
Israeli forces have detained around 20 people from villages around Jenin since the operation began on Tuesday, the official said.
An AFP correspondent reported hearing gunfire and explosions from the northern city’s refugee camp, a hotbed of militancy where Israeli forces have carried out repeated raids.
In December, Jenin area militants also clashed with the security forces of the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority.
‘IRON WALL’
The Israeli military said it was continuing with the operation, dubbed “Iron Wall”, adding that it had “neutralised over 10 terrorists”.
“Additionally, aerial strikes on terror infrastructure sites were conducted and numerous explosives planted on the routes by the terrorists were dismantled,” it said in a statement.
The raid in Jenin aims to counter “hundreds of terrorist attacks, both in Judea and Samaria (the occupied West Bank) and the rest of Israel,” military spokesman Nadav Shoshani said at a press briefing.
He said that since the start of the Gaza war, Israel had seen “over 2,000 terror attack attempts” from the West Bank, adding that the army had “eliminated around 800 terrorists”.
Shoshani said the explosive devices planted along roads had recently killed a soldier in the area.
Islamic Jihad, one of the factions present in Jenin, condemned what it called “the systematic displacement, destruction and killing carried out by the occupation army against Jenin refugee camp”.
The Palestinian Authority’s foreign ministry accused Israel of “collective punishment” and said the raid was part of an Israeli plan aimed at “gradually annexing the occupied West Bank”.
‘DECISIVE OPERATION’
Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed to continue the raid in Jenin.
“It is a decisive operation aimed at eliminating terrorists in the camp,” Katz said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that the military would not allow a “terror front” to be established there.
“It is a key lesson learnt from Gaza… we do not want terrorism to recur in the camp once the operation ends,” he said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the raid aimed to “eradicate terrorism” in Jenin.
He linked the operation to a broader strategy of countering Iran “wherever it sends its arms — in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen” and the West Bank.
The Israeli government has accused Iran, which supports armed groups across the Middle East, including Hamas in Gaza, of attempting to funnel weapons and funds to militants in the West Bank.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for “maximum restraint” from Israeli security forces and expressed deep concern, deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said.
Violence has surged throughout the occupied West Bank since the Gaza war erupted on October 7, 2023.
According to the Palestinian health ministry, Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 848 Palestinians in the West Bank since the conflict began.
During the same period, at least 29 Israelis, including soldiers, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or Israeli military operations in the territory, according to Israeli official figures.
Saudi Arabia Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman told President Donald Trump that the kingdom wants to put $600 billion into expanded investment and trade with the United States over the next four years, the Saudi State news agency said early on Thursday.
The crown prince expressed it during a phone call with Trump, who took oath for his second term on January 20.
During the call, the crown prince conveyed the congratulations of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and his own congratulations to the President on the occasion of his inauguration, and wished the friendly American people more progress and prosperity under the President’s leadership.
The two leaders discussed ways for cooperation between the Kingdom and the US to promote peace, security and stability in the Middle East, in addition to enhancing bilateral cooperation to combat terrorism.
The leaders also discussed ways to enhance bilateral ties in various areas, and the crown prince noted the US administration’s ability to create unprecedented economic prosperity and opportunity through anticipated reforms in the United States, and that the Kingdom seeks to participate in these opportunities for partnership and investment.
The US president expressed his appreciation and thanked the Saudi leadership for their congratulations, and affirmed his keenness to work with the Kingdom on all that benefits the interests of both countries.
Trump said following his inauguration on Monday that he would consider making Saudi Arabia his first destination for a foreign visit if Riyadh agreed to buy $500 billion worth of American products, similar to what he did in his first term.
“I did it with Saudi Arabia last time because they agreed to buy $450 billion worth of our product. I said I’ll do it but you have to buy American product, and they agreed to do that,” Trump said, referring to his 2017 visit to the Gulf kingdom.
An executive order by US President Donald Trump to suspend resettlement of all refugees, including Afghans, for an indefinite period is being seen as a betrayal of those who supported the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and NATO in Afghanistan.
Nearly 1,660 Afghans cleared by the US government to resettle in the US, including family members of active-duty US military personnel, are in limbo since the Trump-led administration took extreme decision.
The order has left them stranded while it is expecting from Pakistan, which has hosted millions of Afghans for decades on humanitarian grounds, to share the burden again.
Instead of easing the burden, the US ban has only intensified challenges for Pakistan and other neighbouring host countries.
Furthermore, the western countries, which have been criticising Pakistan for repatriation of illegal immigrants, are refusing to accept refugees by giving lame excuses, abandoning Afghan refugees when they need help the most.
The Human Rights Watch (HRW), the Amnesty International and the EU keep an eye on Pakistan’s policies while there is no focus on the hypocrisy being showed by the Western countries by banning refugees after using them as pawns.
The international community must hold the US and EU accountable for their bans and pressure them to contribute fairly to managing the Afghan refugee crisis.
Trump made an immigration crackdown a major promise of his victorious 2024 election campaign, leaving the fate of US refugee programmes up in the air.
The State Department on Wednesday implemented the order, announcing that all refugee arrivals were indefinitely suspended, all previously scheduled travel cancelled and new refugee applications, as well those in process, were suspended.
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