WHITE HOUSE STATEMENT TO IRAN: RELEASE DETAINED AMERICANS OR FACE CONSEQUENCES

In a related effort on Friday, Rex Tillerson, U.S. Secretary of State, met with Yusuf bin Alawi, foreign affairs minister of Oman, an Arab country on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. In the past, Washington has sought Oman's mediation to help in securing the release of detained Americans abroad. Oman paid the bail that ultimately resulted in the release of three American hikers in 2010 and 2011, and la

In a White House statement on Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iran that it would face "new and serious consequences" unless all unjustly detained American citizens were released and returnedTrump demanded the return of Robert Levinson, an American former law enforcement officer who disappeared in Iran more than a decade ago, as well as businessman Siamak Namazi and his father, Baquer.

"The Trump administration needs to be prepared and leaning forward and ready to do everything it can to help freedom win and dictatorship lose in the great struggle that is underway in Iran."

The Obama administration, which was already working with other world powers to negotiate the nuclear deal with Iran, responded by adopting a neutral stance. At a press conference 11 days after the election in Iran, then-U.S. President Barack Obama stated:

"I think it is not too late for the Iranian government to recognize that there is a peaceful path that will lead to stability and legitimacy and prosperity for the Iranian people. We hope they take it."
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