INTERNACIONAL
Lawyer for American detained in Iran says hostage deal is ‘easiest problem on the table’ for both sides
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The matter of American hostages wrongfully detained in Iran could be resolved during negotiations between Tehran and Washington as both sides navigate a fragile ceasefire amid attempts to end the conflict, one expert said.
Ryan Fayhee, a lawyer for Abdolreza «Reza» Valizadeh, 49, who has been detained by Iran for more than a year, stressed the urgency of a diplomatic solution to secure his client’s release as pressure on Iran remains high during the war against the United States and Israel.
«It is my job as Reza’s lawyer to make sure that it doesn’t get lost,» Fayhee told Fox News Digital. «While I have high confidence that this is part of the negotiations, even though the administration hasn’t stated so publicly… it is officially my job to make sure it remains part of those conversations. And equally so — and this is the bigger challenge, because obviously, I don’t have full control — it’s my job to make sure Reza is safe and alive to allow for those negotiations to take place that ideally will secure his release.»
Iran is currently holding six Americans, though only two have been publicly identified: Valizadeh and 61-year-old Kamran Hekmati. Both hold dual Iranian and American citizenship and were being held in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison.
WHY TRUMP, IRAN SEEM LIGHT-YEARS APART ON ANY POSSIBLE DEAL TO END THE WAR
In recent days, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have issued warnings on social media for residents living near the prison to evacuate the area amid continuing airstrikes.
«Despite Reza and Kamran Hekmati both being American citizens, the Iranians don’t recognize their American citizenship,» Fayhee said. «For that reason, they don’t receive traditional consular services. And even if they did, we don’t have an embassy there.»
In February, the State Department designated Iran a «State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention» for arbitrarily arresting Americans to use as bargaining chips in future negotiations.
«For decades, Iran has continued to cruelly detain innocent Americans, as well as citizens of other nations, to use as political leverage against other states,» Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at the time. «This abhorrent practice must end.»
IRAN THREATENS TO END CEASEFIRE OVER HEZBOLLAH’S EXCLUSION FROM TRUCE DEAL
A view of the entrance of Evin prison in Tehran, Iran Oct. 17, 2022. (Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters)
The designation adds extra layers of isolating tools, such as sanctions and travel restrictions, Fayhee noted.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the State Department and the White House, which has called on Iran to release every American being detained.
«President Trump has been clear that he wants every American wrongfully detained to be returned home safe and sound, and that there will be dire consequences for regimes who treat Americans as political pawns,» a White House spokesperson told The Associated Press.
VANCE WARNS IRAN WILL ‘FIND OUT’ TRUMP IS ‘NOT ONE TO MESS AROUND’ IF CEASEFIRE DEAL FALLS APART
Islamabad is set to host peace talks between Iran and the U.S. on April 10. (Farooq NAEEM / AFP via Getty Images)
A second round of talks between Tehran and Washington has stalled as a clear path to a diplomatic resolution of the seven-week war remains uncertain. On Monday, President Donald Trump said he was under no pressure to make a deal with Iran, «although, it will all happen, relatively quickly!» he wrote on Truth Social.
Valizadeh was arrested in September 2024 during a visit to see family and was sentenced after being convicted of working with a «hostile government.» As a journalist, he previously reported on the 2009 pro-democracy protests in Iran and the regime’s heavy-handed response. As a result, he was exiled and began working for Radio Farda, the Iranian branch of the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Securing a deal to free any Americans being held in Iran could prove difficult given Tehran’s proclivity for deception, Roger Carstens, the former U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, previously told Fox News.
«Strangely, the Russians, the Chinese, the Taliban, and the Venezuelans — when you start getting into hostage discussions, they tell the truth, and they stick to what they promise. You can do a handshake deal with the Taliban, and they’re going to follow through,» Carstens said. «The Iranians? Absolutely not.»
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However, Fayhee, who also served as the lawyer for Paul Rusesabagina — the hotelier portrayed in the 2004 film «Hotel Rwanda» — said he maintains hope for Valizadeh’s release. He noted that Iran is increasingly isolated following its missile strikes on its Arab neighbors and the opposition it faces from Western powers.
«It is the easiest problem on the table to solve, and both sides should acknowledge that,» Fayhee said. «Both sides should focus on it because clearly they’re trying to build a relationship of trust in these negotiations, and this is the surest way to do that.»
«The easiest thing Iran can do to show they’re genuinely interested in backing themselves out of this corner is to release these Americans,» he added. «It is low-hanging fruit.»
conflicts, war with iran, iran, foreign affairs, israel
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The partisan battle over midterm elections is heating up in Washington, D.C., with accusations flying that both sides are trying to rig the outcome in November.
Republicans are trying to hold on to their majority in both chambers, while Democrats are trying to pounce on sluggish legislating, infighting and rising costs in their quest to take over the House, Senate or both.
And President Donald Trump is already accusing Democrats of election interference months before Election Day.
SCHUMER, DEMS LAUNCH ‘FREE AND FAIR’ ELECTIONS TASK FORCE AS TRUMP’S SAVE AMERICA ACT STUMBLES
President Donald Trump accused Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Democrats of trying to «interfere in our elections» with their newly launched election integrity task force. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
«The Democrats are totally unhinged, and we will not allow them to threaten the integrity of our Elections,» Trump said on Truth Social.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Democrats recently launched a «free and fair elections task force» that would recruit the likes of former Attorney General Eric Holder and Marc Elias, who Trump charged was «a terrible lawyer with a horrible track record.»
«Palestinian Chuck Schumer is hiring Eric Holder, famous for handing guns to Mexican cartels under the Barack Hussein Obama administration, as part of a Democrat-led ‘Election Integrity Group’ that will no doubt try to suppress Republican voters, and interfere in our Elections,» Trump said on Truth Social.
Schumer and Senate Democrats debuted the elections task force as Republicans struggle to move forward on voter ID and citizenship verification legislation, and on the heels of the Supreme Court’s redistricting decision that is expected to further crank up the redistricting arms race across the country.
REPUBLICANS FAIL TO ATTACH SAVE AMERICA ACT TO PARTY-LINE FUNDING PACKAGE
Voters arrive at a polling location at the Burton Barr Central Library on Nov. 5, 2024, in Phoenix. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
«Donald Trump and the Republicans realize that if the election were held fairly, that the likelihood is that they would lose, and we would win, that we would take back the House, take back the Senate,» Schumer said.
«So they are doing all kinds of nefarious things, some of them legal, some of them not so legal, to try and overturn a fair result in an election,» he continued.
Schumer described the task force’s mission as seeking out «election threats,» including actions at the administrative level by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS), attacks on the First Amendment, foreign threats and militarization of law enforcement at the polls.
Trump countered that in the 2024 election cycle, Republicans mounted an «Election Integrity Army in every single State to preserve the sanctity of each legal vote.»
«We will be doing the same again in 2026, but it will be much bigger and stronger,» Trump said. «All Americans should have their voices be heard by casting a vote. Be assured this Election will be fair!»
Its inception is in response to what Democrats say is a «comprehensive effort» by Trump and his administration to undermine the upcoming election, particularly through efforts to pass the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act.
TWO DOZEN HOUSE REPUBLICANS GO TO WAR WITH SENATE GOP OVER SAVE AMERICA ACT
The SAVE America Act, or a version of it pushed by Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., failed last month when four Republicans joined Democrats to kill it. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Trump has strongly pushed Republicans to pass the SAVE America Act, which would create federal voter ID laws, require proof of citizenship to register to vote and share information on voter rolls with DHS. Democrats say the legislation would disenfranchise millions of Americans.
But Republicans aren’t unified behind the legislation. The SAVE America Act, or a version of it pushed by Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., failed last month when four Republicans joined Democrats to kill it.
He has also called on Republicans to nationalize elections, and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin didn’t rule out sending federal immigration agents to polling places in the fall during his confirmation hearing earlier this year.
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It’s part of what Democrats charge is a concerted effort to tip the scales in the upcoming elections.
«Donald Trump doesn’t think he did too much in 2020 to steal the election,» Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said. «He thinks he did too little, and so that’s why you are seeing, already, a comprehensive effort to try to rig and steal the fall election.»
homeland security, democrats elections, midterm elections, republicans elections, senate elections
INTERNACIONAL
Despidos masivos en Irán a medida que las empresas sucumben ante las presiones de la guerra
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Conservative House Republicans are escalating a fight over government surveillance as Congress reopens debate this week on a controversial warrantless spying program.
Members of the House Freedom Caucus are pledging to hold firm on adding a permanent ban on central bank digital currency (CBDC) to any legislation that reauthorizes Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). But the proposal faces widespread opposition from Senate Democrats and is viewed as dead on arrival in the upper chamber.
The cross-chamber standoff threatens to complicate Congress’ ability to meet a mid-June deadline to renew the spy law, which the Trump administration argues is a critical national security tool.
«If the Senate thinks they’re going to keep rolling over us, it’s just not going to happen,» Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said at a news conference in late April, referring to the Senate’s opposition to including a CBDC ban in a FISA renewal bill.
Rep. Andy Harris, chair of the Freedom Caucus, speaks to reporters alongside other members in the U.S. Capitol on March 27, 2026. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
SPEAKER JOHNSON ONE STEP CLOSER TO RENEWING CONTROVERSIAL SPY PROGRAM AFTER CONSERVATIVES FALL IN LINE
Both chambers in April approved a 45-day FISA extension to allow for more time for negotiations. House GOP privacy hawks objected to the short-term measure, citing its omission of a CBDC ban.
«CBDC can still make it across the finish line. Let’s just push on,» the Texas Republican added. «The Senate will respond to the people if they push hard enough. I’m positive on it.»
GOP privacy hawks argue a CBDC ban is a critical privacy guardrail against the Federal Reserve issuing a digital currency that could be used to surveil and potentially cut access to Americans’ financial transactions.
«They don’t want the government monitoring their bank accounts, telling them what they can buy, when they can buy it and when they’re not allowed to buy,» Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., said at a news conference, referring to his constituents’ concerns about a government-issued digital token.
The group has repeatedly sought to add a CBDC ban to various legislation over the past year, but has not yet been able to get a permanent ban on President Donald Trump’s desk.
During his confirmation hearing, Federal Reserve chair nominee Kevin Warsh said he would not issue a CBDC during his term, calling the proposal a «bad policy choice.»
Kevin Warsh, incoming chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, has called a government-issued digital currency a «bad policy choice.» (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
HOUSE GOP SLAMMED BY CONSERVATIVES FOR JOINING DEMS ON CONTROVERSIAL ‘KILL SWITCH’ AMENDMENT
The push to ban CBDCs is part of a broader effort by conservative Republicans to ramp up their fight against government surveillance.
«Americans don’t want Big Brother in their cars, their bank accounts, or their homes,» a spokesperson for the conservative House Freedom Caucus told Fox News Digital. «The gloves are coming off before FISA expires on June 12.»
Roy, the HFC’s policy chief, is pushing to repeal a Biden-era provision requiring a federal agency to draft a rule mandating impaired driver technology in new cars that could shut off vehicles if drunk driving is detected. The federal government has not yet moved forward with drafting the «kill switch» regulation.
«Do you really want to put that kind of data collection mandated inside every car? At what point is there just literally no privacy at all anywhere?» Roy said during a hearing in late April in support of adding a «kill switch» repeal amendment to FISA extension legislation.
GOP privacy hawks have also advocated for language that would add a judicial warrant requirement to the FISA renewal bill. While the law targets foreigners overseas using U.S. platforms, their communications with Americans can also be swept up and reviewed.
Privacy advocates in the Democratic Party have also long pushed for a warrant requirement to gather information on Americans.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, has argued that a clean authorization of FISA Section 702 «is off the table» due to widespread opposition in Congress to extend the law without reforms. (Andrew Harnik/Getty)
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The Trump administration initially sought a clean 18-month extension of the spy law, but quickly ran into problems with a mix of conservative and progressive privacy hawks.
«We’re not going to pass something that’s a long-term, clean reauthorization,» Roy said. «I think that’s been taken off the table. We’ve demonstrated that, and we’re going to get reforms.»
politics, congress, republicans, privacy
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