“Hostage Diplomacy”: A Persistent Tool of Iranian Statecraft
Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran has repeatedly detained Western nationals in cases observers and victims’ families describe as a deliberate tactic to extract political or financial concessions. This week Tehran released two French citizens, Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, after more than three years behind bars on espionage convictions their families say were unjustified and rooted in geopolitics rather than credible evidence.
France termed Kohler and Paris, along with several other recently freed nationals, “state hostages.” Dozens of other Europeans and Americans have faced similar opaque prosecutions in recent years, fueling concerns in capitals across Europe and North America.
Historical context and recent swaps
The tactic has deep roots: the 1979 seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran — during which 52 Americans were held for 444 days — remains the emblematic example. Analysts say more recent cases have followed a pattern of detention followed by protracted, secret diplomacy that ultimately yields concessions such as frozen assets being released, long-standing debt settlements or the freeing of Iranian prisoners abroad.
"Iran has pursued hostage diplomacy since the founding of the Islamic Republic in 1979," said Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran. "It uses hostages as pawns to extract concessions that it could not otherwise achieve from the United States and its allies."
Examples include the 2023 release of five Americans after some $6 billion in Iranian assets were unfrozen in South Korea, the 2022 release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and others following settlement of a decades-old UK debt tied to tanks ordered under the shah, and the 2020 exchange that saw British-Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert freed after Thailand released three Iranian prisoners.
Ongoing cases and international response
Not all cases end in release. Swedish-Iranian academic Ahmadreza Djalali remains on death row following a 2017 conviction his family rejects, and British nationals Lindsay and Craig Foreman are detained after being stopped on a long-distance motorbike trip earlier this year.
Advocates and policy experts urge a stronger, coordinated response from Western governments. Suggestions include: unified travel advisories or bans, immediate multinational sanctions and diplomatic isolation when citizens are taken, and standing mechanisms for rapid, collective action rather than ad hoc deals.
"The US government should be working collectively with its allies to impose a range of multinational penalties on the Islamic Republic the moment any hostage from these countries is taken," Brodsky said, calling current responses "piecemeal."
Iranian authorities reject the label of "hostage diplomacy," saying that foreign nationals arrested in Iran are prosecuted through the country's legal system. The debate, however, centers on whether such prosecutions are being used selectively for leverage rather than for transparent law enforcement.
What to watch next: whether Western governments will coordinate stronger preventive measures, how Tehran frames future prosecutions, and the status of detainees still held in Iran.
