WASHINGTON: US diplomats used a meeting with their Iranian counterparts to press the release of Americans being detained in Iran, the administration of President Donald Trump said Thursday. It is the first public acknowledgment of direct US-Iranian discussions since Trump took office.
State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the talks occurred on the sidelines of a meeting in Vienna this week that focused on implementation of the Iran nuclear deal. Trump has railed against the seven-nation accord that former President Barack Obama’s administration led to completion in 2015. But Trump’s aides recently certified that Iran was upholding its commitment to not advance its nuclear program toward weapons capability.
Although Trump and his top advisers have publicly criticized Iran for its support of Syrian President Bashar Assad, Yemeni rebels and militant groups throughout the Middle East, American officials have not spoken about any continuation of US-Iranian conversations that became routine under the Obama administration.
At Tuesday’s meeting in Austria, Toner said: “The US delegation raised with the Iranian delegation its serious concerns regarding the cases of US citizens detained and missing in Iran, and called on Iran to immediately release these US citizens so they can be reunited with their families.”
Toner cited the detentions of Iranian-American businessman Siamak Namazi and his 81-year-old father, Baquer Namazi, who are serving 10-year prison sentences for “cooperating with the hostile American government.” The younger Namazi has been detained since October 2015 and his father was taken into custody in February 2016.
Their supporters deny the charges and say the two are being held as leverage against the US. Iran has detained dual nationals to use as bargaining chips in negotiations with the West, most notably in a controversial 2016 prisoner swap with the US that coincided with American sanctions being removed as part of the nuclear deal and a $1.7 billion payment by Washington to settle a decades-old dispute with Tehran over a frozen Iranian account.
Both Namazis appear to be ensnared by hard-liners within Iran’s security services, who oppose Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and the nuclear deal he struck with world powers.
Toner also noted it has been more than a decade since the disappearance of former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent Robert “Bob” Levinson, a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) contractor in 2007 traveling on an unauthorized mission to collect intelligence. The only photos and video of Levinson emerged in 2010 and 2011. He appeared gaunt and bearded with long hair, and was wearing an orange jumpsuit similar to those worn by detainees at the US prison at Guantanamo Bay.
“Iran committed to cooperating with the United States in bringing Bob home and we call on Iran to fulfill this commitment,” Toner said, though Tehran has had been providing such commitments previously. “The United States remains unwavering in its efforts to return Bob to his family.”
Toner made no mention of an Iranian-American who was recently released on bail from his long prison sentence in Iran for “collaboration with a hostile government.” While Robin Shahini of San Diego was let go from prison, it was unclear if he would be permitted to leave Iran. Shahini traveled to Iran to see his mother, who has Alzheimer’s disease, and was detained last July.
In December, a human rights group reported that Iranian-American art gallery manager Karan Vafadari and his Iranian wife also were detained.
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US presses for Americans’ release in direct talks with Iran
US presses for Americans’ release in direct talks with Iran
Thailand PM Anutin consolidates power with dominating election win
- Bhumjaithai Party wins clear victory after a nationalist campaign amid Cambodia conflict
- Vote also included a referendum on a new constitution to replace a 2017 military-backed charter
BANGKOK: Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s Bhumjaithai Party won a clear victory in Sunday’s general election, raising the prospect that a more stable coalition may now succeed in bringing an end to a period of prolonged political instability.
Anutin set the stage for the snap election in mid-December during a border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia, a move political analysts said appeared to be timed by the conservative leader to cash in on surging nationalism.
It is a gamble that paid off for a prime minister, who — having taken over after premier Paetongtarn Shinawatra of the populist Pheu Thai party was ousted over the Cambodian crisis — then dissolved parliament less than 100 days later.
“Bhumjaithai’s victory today is a victory for all Thais, whether you voted for Bhumjaithai Party or not,” Anutin told a press briefing. “We have to do the utmost to serve the Thai people to our full ability.”
With nearly 95 percent of polling stations reporting, preliminary results released by the election commission showed the Bhumjaithai Party winning about 192 seats, compared to 117 for the progressive People’s Party, and 74 for the once-dominant Pheu Thai party.
A handful of other parties won a combined 117 spots in the 500-seat parliament, according to a Reuters calculation of election commission data.
Power to govern
When Anutin dissolved parliament in December, he cited dysfunction and infighting between rival parties as making it impossible to lead a minority government.
While the Bhumjaithai Party was unlikely to win a majority outright, the results suggest it is in a strong position to push through campaign pledges, said Napon Jatusripitak, a political scientist at the Bangkok-based Thailand Future think-tank. Those include implementing a consumer subsidy program and ditching an agreement with Cambodia over maritime claims.
“For the first time in a long time, we will likely have a government that has sufficient effective power to govern,” he said. “We are seeing what I would describe as a marriage of convenience between technocrats, conservative elites, and traditional politicians.”
Critical to Anutin’s success were his embrace of nationalism and Bhumjaithai’s strategy of winning over politicians from rival parties in rural areas, analysts said.
“The scale of its victory was unanticipated, perhaps demonstrating that the more nationalist political environment and its ability to consolidate the conservative electorate all worked in its favor,” said Mathis Lohatepanont, an independent political analyst.
Coalition bid rejected
Speaking as results were coming in, People’s Party leader Natthaphong Rueangpanyawut conceded that, while some votes had yet to be counted, his party did not look likely to win.
Natthaphong said the party would not join a Bhumjaithai-led government but would also not form a competing coalition.
“If Bhumjaithai can form a government, then we have to be the opposition,” he told a press conference.
With a message of structural change and reforms to Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, the People’s Party had led most opinion polls during the campaign season.
But in a survey conducted during the campaign’s final week and released on Sunday, the National Institute for Development Administration projected that Bhumjaithai would be the winner with between 140 and 150 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives, ahead of 125-135 for the People’s Party.
The progressive party’s earlier support for Anutin as prime minister was likely a severe miscalculation, undermining its own ideological purity and allowing Bhumjaithai to attain the benefits of incumbency, Mathis said.
Speaking to Reuters, Natthaphong said he did not see the election as the result of any mistakes by his party, but instead highlighted that its opponents had not been complacent.
“I’m not blaming any factors. Our responsibility now has to be to focus on the grassroots,” he said. “We’ve done a lot already but haven’t been able to crack what they have. It wasn’t good enough.”
Constitutional referendum
Thai voters were also asked during the vote to decide if a new constitution should replace a 2017 military-backed charter that critics say concentrated power in undemocratic institutions, including a powerful senate that is chosen through an indirect selection process with limited public participation.
The election commission’s early count showed voters backing the referendum by a margin of nearly two to one.
Thailand has had 20 constitutions since the end of its absolute monarchy in 1932, with most of the changes coming in the wake of military coups.
The new government and lawmakers can start the amendment process in parliament with two more referendums required to adopt a new constitution.
Anutin set the stage for the snap election in mid-December during a border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia, a move political analysts said appeared to be timed by the conservative leader to cash in on surging nationalism.
It is a gamble that paid off for a prime minister, who — having taken over after premier Paetongtarn Shinawatra of the populist Pheu Thai party was ousted over the Cambodian crisis — then dissolved parliament less than 100 days later.
“Bhumjaithai’s victory today is a victory for all Thais, whether you voted for Bhumjaithai Party or not,” Anutin told a press briefing. “We have to do the utmost to serve the Thai people to our full ability.”
With nearly 95 percent of polling stations reporting, preliminary results released by the election commission showed the Bhumjaithai Party winning about 192 seats, compared to 117 for the progressive People’s Party, and 74 for the once-dominant Pheu Thai party.
A handful of other parties won a combined 117 spots in the 500-seat parliament, according to a Reuters calculation of election commission data.
Power to govern
When Anutin dissolved parliament in December, he cited dysfunction and infighting between rival parties as making it impossible to lead a minority government.
While the Bhumjaithai Party was unlikely to win a majority outright, the results suggest it is in a strong position to push through campaign pledges, said Napon Jatusripitak, a political scientist at the Bangkok-based Thailand Future think-tank. Those include implementing a consumer subsidy program and ditching an agreement with Cambodia over maritime claims.
“For the first time in a long time, we will likely have a government that has sufficient effective power to govern,” he said. “We are seeing what I would describe as a marriage of convenience between technocrats, conservative elites, and traditional politicians.”
Critical to Anutin’s success were his embrace of nationalism and Bhumjaithai’s strategy of winning over politicians from rival parties in rural areas, analysts said.
“The scale of its victory was unanticipated, perhaps demonstrating that the more nationalist political environment and its ability to consolidate the conservative electorate all worked in its favor,” said Mathis Lohatepanont, an independent political analyst.
Coalition bid rejected
Speaking as results were coming in, People’s Party leader Natthaphong Rueangpanyawut conceded that, while some votes had yet to be counted, his party did not look likely to win.
Natthaphong said the party would not join a Bhumjaithai-led government but would also not form a competing coalition.
“If Bhumjaithai can form a government, then we have to be the opposition,” he told a press conference.
With a message of structural change and reforms to Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, the People’s Party had led most opinion polls during the campaign season.
But in a survey conducted during the campaign’s final week and released on Sunday, the National Institute for Development Administration projected that Bhumjaithai would be the winner with between 140 and 150 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives, ahead of 125-135 for the People’s Party.
The progressive party’s earlier support for Anutin as prime minister was likely a severe miscalculation, undermining its own ideological purity and allowing Bhumjaithai to attain the benefits of incumbency, Mathis said.
Speaking to Reuters, Natthaphong said he did not see the election as the result of any mistakes by his party, but instead highlighted that its opponents had not been complacent.
“I’m not blaming any factors. Our responsibility now has to be to focus on the grassroots,” he said. “We’ve done a lot already but haven’t been able to crack what they have. It wasn’t good enough.”
Constitutional referendum
Thai voters were also asked during the vote to decide if a new constitution should replace a 2017 military-backed charter that critics say concentrated power in undemocratic institutions, including a powerful senate that is chosen through an indirect selection process with limited public participation.
The election commission’s early count showed voters backing the referendum by a margin of nearly two to one.
Thailand has had 20 constitutions since the end of its absolute monarchy in 1932, with most of the changes coming in the wake of military coups.
The new government and lawmakers can start the amendment process in parliament with two more referendums required to adopt a new constitution.
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