,,iii  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #bde  ,,in ,,the ,,senate    
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,august   
#c1 #bjag ,mr4 ,cruz 7for himself and   
,mr4 ,leahy7 submitted the following    
resolution2 which was referred to the   
,committee on ,foreign ,relations       
,,resolution  ,calling on the           
,government of ,iran to release unjustly
 detained ,united ,states citizens and  
legal permanent resident aliens1 and for
 other purposes4  ,whereas the ,islamic 
,revolutionary ,guard ,corps 7,,irgc7 of
 ,iran has taken as hostages several    
,united ,states citizens1 including     
,siamak ,namazi1 ,baquer ,namazi1 and   
,xiyue ,wang1 as well as ,united ,states
 legal permanent resident alien ,nizar  
,zakka2 ,whereas ,siamak ,namazi was    
detained on ,october #ae1 #bjae1 falsely
 accused and convicted on ,october #ah1 
#bjaf1 for collaborating with a hostile 
government1 and has been held for       
extended periods in solitary confinement
 and subjected to prolonged             

interrogation2 ,whereas former ,united  
,nations ,children's ,fund 7,,unicef7   
official ,baquer ,namazi1 the           
#hj-year-old father of ,siamak ,namazi1 
was detained on ,february #bb1 #bjaf1   
falsely charged and sentenced to #aj    
years in prison for the identical crime 
as his son2 ,whereas former             
,secretary-,general of the ,united      
,nations ,ban ,ki-moon urged authorities
 in ,iran to release ,baquer ,namazi1   
whose health is deteriorating1 so his   
family can care for him2 ,whereas       
,,unicef has issued #d public statements
 on ,baquer ,namazi's behalf2 ,whereas  
,xiyue ,wang1 a graduate student at     
,princeton ,university1 was arrested in 
,iran on or about ,august #g1 #bjaf1    
while studying ,farsi and researching   
the late ,qajar dynasty as background   
for his doctoral dissertation1 detained 
by ,iran in ,evin prison for almost a   
year1 falsely charged with espionage1   
and sentenced to #aj years in prison2   
,whereas ,robert ,levinson1 a ,united   

,states citizen and retired agent of the
 ,federal ,bureau of ,investigation1    
traveled to ,kish ,island1 ,iran1 and   
disappeared on ,march #i1 #bjjg2        
,whereas1 according to former ,white    
,house ,press ,secretary ,josh ,earnest1
 the ,united ,states ,government had    
secured a commitment from the ,iranians 
''' to try and gather information about 
,mr4 ,levinson's possible whereabouts   
but has not received any information    
thus far2 ,whereas ,nizar ,zakka1 a     
,united ,states legal permanent resident
 alien and ,lebanese national1 who is   
also in poor health1 was unlawfully     
detained around ,september #ah1 #bjae1  
after speaking at a conference in ,iran 
at the invitation of ,iran1 and was     
later falsely charged with being a spy  
and sentenced to #aj years at the ,evin 
prison in ,iran2 ,whereas1 on ,april    
#ac1 #bjag1 the ,united ,states         
,department of the ,treasury sanctioned 
the ,tehran ,prisons ,organization and  
its former head1 ,sohrab ,soleimani1 and

 former ,white ,house ,press ,secretary 
,sean ,spicer noted that the sanctions  
against human rights abusers in ,iran's 
prisons come at a time when ,iran       
continues to unjustly detain in its     
prisons various foreigners1 including   
,u4,s4 citizens ,siamak ,namazi and     
,baquer ,namazi2 ,whereas1 on ,april    
#be1 #bjag1 at the meeting of the ,joint
 ,commission overseeing implementation  
of the ,joint ,comprehensive ,plan of   
,action1 the ,department of ,state      
reported that the ,united ,states       
delegation had raised with the ,iranian 
delegation its serious concerns         
regarding the cases of ,u4,s4 citizens  
detained and missing in ,iran1 and      
called on ,iran to immediately release  
these ,u4,s4 citizens so they can be    
reunited with their families2 and       
,whereas reports indicate that the      
,government of ,iran has sought to      
condition the release of imprisoned     
nationals and dual-nationals on receipt 
of economic or political concessions1 a 

practice banned by the ,international   
,convention ,against the ,taking of     
,hostages1 adopted by the ,general      
,assembly of the ,united ,nations on    
,december #ag1 #aigi1 and acceded to by 
the ,government of ,iran on ,november   
#bj1 #bjjf1 and other international     
legal norms3 ,now1 therefore1 be it     
,that the ,senate-- 7#a7 calls on the   
,government of ,iran to release ,siamak 
,namazi1 ,baquer ,namazi1 ,xiyue ,wang1 
,nizar ,zakka1 and any other ,united    
,states citizen1 legal permanent        
resident alien1 or foreign national     
being unjustly detained in ,iran2  7#b7 
urges the ,president to make the release
 of ,united ,states citizens and legal  
permanent resident aliens held hostage  
by the ,government of ,iran the highest 
of priorities2  7#c7 requests that the  
,united ,states and its allies whose    
nationals and residents have been       
detained consider establishing a        
multinational task force to work to     
secure the release of the detainees2    

7#d7 urges the ,government of ,iran to  
take meaningful steps toward fulfilling 
its repeated promises to assist in      
locating and returning ,robert          
,levinson1 including immediately        
providing all available information from
 all entities of the ,government of     
,iran regarding the disappearance of    
,robert ,levinson to the ,united ,states
 ,government2  7#e7 urges the ,president
 to take whatever steps are in the      
national interest to secure the release 
of ,siamak ,namazi1 ,baquer ,namazi1    
,xiyue ,wang1 ,nizar ,zakka1 and any    
other ,united ,states citizen1 legal    
permanent resident alien1 or foreign    
national being unjustly detained in     
,iran2 and  7#f7 urges the ,president to
 take whatever steps are in the national
 interest to determine the whereabouts  
and secure the return of ,robert        
,levinson4