On October 28, 2023, Iranian politician and former IRGC minister Brig.- Gen. Mohsen Rafighdoost told Iranian TV in an interview that Iran is holding Western hostages, and warned that Iran will kill them if it is attacked by Western countries. Later, on November 9, Hossein Shariatmadari, longtime editor of the Iranian regime mouthpiece Kayhan who is a close associate of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, criticized Rafighdoost for his statements. He said that they could damage Iran's image and justify Western claims that Iran arrests Westerners so that they can be used to pressure their home countries.
That same day, November 9, Rafighdoost was again interviewed on Iranian TV, and clarified that the "hostages" to whom he was referring were actually Israel and the U.S. military bases in the region – not the Westerners imprisoned in Iran.
Below are translations of Rafighdoost's interviews and Shariatmadari's criticism.
Iranian Politician And Former IRGC Minister Mohsen Rafighdoost: We Have Hostages We Can Eliminate If Iran Is Attacked – And, Allah Willing, We Will Have The Opportunity To Do So
It is a known and oft-employed strategy and policy of the Iranian regime to arrest Westerners and use them as bargaining chips to obtain political achievements and money.[1] However, the Iranian regime denies that this is why it imprisons Westerners, stating instead that they were arrested because they were spying for the West.
However, in an October 28, 2023 interview on Iran's Channel 3 TV, Iranian politician and former IRGC Minister Brig.-Gen. Mohsen Rafighdoost indicated that Iran does indeed take hostages as bargaining chips against the West.
To view this clip of Rafighdoost's statements on MEMRI TV, click here or below:
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