US graduate student released from Iran highlights cases of Americans detained by Tehran - Fox News

A Chinese-American graduate student is on his way back to the United States after he was released from an Iran prison in exchange for an Iranian scientist who was held by the U.S.

The release of Xiyue Wang, who was detained in 2016 and sentenced to 10 years in prison for allegedly “infiltrating” the country and sending confidential material abroad, on Saturday put a spotlight on the detention of at least four other Americans in Iran.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo acknowledged on Saturday that the Trump administration’s top priority is to return Americans held in Iran and around the world.

AMERICAN GRADUATE STUDENT HELD IN IRAN ON SPY CHARGES SINCE 2016 RELEASED

The most notable detention is that of former FBI Robert Levinson, who vanished from the Iranian island of Kish in 2007 while on an unauthorized CIA mission.

Last month Iran acknowledged for the first time that Levinson was the subject of an "on going case" in the Public Prosecution and Revolutionary Court of Tehran. However, Iranian officials did not say how long the case has been open or how it started.

Levinson is now the longest-held hostage in U.S. history.

His daughter, Sarah Moriarty, told Fox News’ “The Story” last month the Trump administration has been “working very hard; very tirelessly to bring him home.”

The U.S. has offered a $25 million reward for information leading directly to Levinson’s safe location, recovery, and return. This is on top of a $5 million reward already posted.

“My message to my dad is that we are working tirelessly every day and we are working hard to bring him home,” Moriarty said.

DAUGHTER OF EX-FBI AGENT MISSING FOR A DECADE IN IRAN THANKS TRUMP FOR 'CLEAR MESSAGE' TO TEHRAN

Others detained in Iran include 81-year-old businessman Baquer Namazi, who has been held for over two years and has been diagnosed with epilepsy. He is a former representative for the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF who served as governor of Iran’s oil-rich Khuzestan province under the U.S.-baked shah.

He and his son Siamak Namazi, also a dual national who has been held for more than three years, are serving a 10-year sentence after they were convicted of collaborating with a hostile power.

Baquer Namazi's other son told Fox News in a statement Saturday that while he is thrilled that Wang's "horrific nightmare" has ended, he is "beyond devastated that a second President has left my ailing father Baquer Namazi and brother Siamak Zamasi behind as American hostages in Iran in a second swap deal."

"I hope, pray and expect that this is not a one-time trade but the beginning of an expedited process that will bring my family home soon," Babak Zamaki said.

Also detained is U.S. Navy veteran Michael White, who had been held in an Iranian prison on unspecified charges since late July 2018. The 46-year-old White was detained after visiting his Iranian girlfriend, his mother told the New York Times in January.

American Navy veteran Michael R. White, 46, was detained in Iran after visiting his Iranian girlfriend, his mother said. (Instagram)

White was sentenced in March to 10 years in prison for allegedly insulting Iran’s supreme leader and posting private information only. Information surrounding the care remains vague.

At the time, Joanne White said that the U.S. had put in a request for a consular visit with the Swiss government.

IRAN, US IN WAR OF WORDS OVER PRISONERS

The Swiss Embassy in Tehran looks out for America’s interests in the country as the U.S. Embassy there has been closed since the 1979 student takeover and 444-day hostage crisis.

An Iranian-American art dealer Karan Vafadari and his Iranian wife, Afarin Nayssari, received 27-year and 16-year prison sentences, respectively.

Pompeo said Saturday that Wang – who was released as part of the exchange of scientist Massoud Soleimani – is on his way back to the U.S.

FILE - In this Wednesday, May 9, 2018 file photo, Hua Qu, the wife of detained Chinese-American Xiyue Wang, poses for a photograph with a portrait of her family in Princeton, N.J. Iran's foreign minister says a detained Princeton graduate student will be exchanged for an Iranian scientist held by the U.S. Mohammed Javad Zarif made the announcement on Twitter on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

“Mr. Wang will soon be reunited with his wife and son, who have missed him dearly,” he said.

Tensions have been high between Iran and the U.S. since Trump unilaterally withdrew America from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers in May 2018. In the time since, the U.S. has imposed harsh sanctions on Iran's economy. There also have been a series of attacks across the Mideast that the U.S. blames on Iran.

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The Western detainees from the U.S. and elsewhere will likely be used as bargaining chips for future negotiations amid Iran’s unraveling nuclear deal with world powers.

In June, Iran released Nizar Zakka, a U.S. permanent resident from Lebanon who advocated for internet freedom and has done work for the U.S. government. The U.S. deported Iranian Negar Ghodskani in September, who had been brought from Australia and later sentenced to time served for conspiracy to illegally export restricted technology from the U.S. to Iran.

Fox News' Charles Creitz, Samuel Chamberlain, Lucas Tomlinson and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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2019-12-07 15:23:01Z
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American Held In Iran Released In Prisoner Exchange - NPR

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Hua Qu, the wife of Xiyue Wang, a Princeton University graduate student being held at an Iranian prison, wears a button bearing a picture of her husband as she speaks at a news conference to mark the third anniversary of his imprisonment, Aug. 8, 2019, in Washington, D.C. Patrick Semansky/AP hide caption

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Patrick Semansky/AP

Updated at 8:08 a.m. ET

Iran freed an American held prisoner for the past three years, the White House said Saturday, while Iran said the U.S. was freeing an Iranian scientist held in America in return.

"After more than three years of being held prisoner in Iran, Xiyue Wang is returning to the United States," the White House said in a statement Saturday morning. "A Princeton University graduate student, Mr. Wang had been held under the pretense of espionage since August 2016."

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif wrote on Twitter: "Glad that Professor Massoud Soleimani and Mr. Xiyue Wang will be joining their families shortly."

A senior U.S. official confirmed the release of Massoud Soleimani for Xiyue Wang.

U.S. authorities arrested Soleimani over trade sanction violations, according to The Associated Press. "He and his lawyers maintain his innocence, saying he seized on a former student's plans to travel from the U.S. to Iran in September 2016 as a chance to get recombinant proteins used in his research for a fraction of the price he'd pay at home."

The White House and Zarif both thanked the Swiss government for helping in the negotiations.

Wang was sentenced to 10 years in prison in Iran for spying for American and British intelligence agencies. Princeton said Wang was arrested while doing research on "the administrative and cultural history of the late Qajar dynasty in connection with his Ph.D. dissertation."

"Everything he did is normal — absolutely everything he did is normal, standard practice for scholars in this region and elsewhere," Stephen Kotkin, Wang's adviser at Princeton, told NPR in 2017. Princeton said it was working behind the scenes to free Wang.

In September 2018, a United Nations committee said Iran had "no legal basis" for Wang's arrest and detention.

This story will be updated.

NPR's Steve Inskeep contributed reporting.

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2019-12-07 12:31:00Z
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American graduate student held in Iran on spy charges since 2016 released - Fox News

An American graduate student held in Iran has been released in exchange for an Iranian scientist held by the U.S., officials confirmed.

Iran’s foreign minister and the White House both announced that Princeton University graduate student Xiyue Wang was exchanged for scientist Massoud Soleimani.

Brian Hook, the U.S. special representative for Iran, accompanied the Iranian scientist to Switzerland to make the exchange and will return with Wang, a U.S. official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The swap took place in Zurich and Hook and Wang are now en route to Landstuhl in Germany where Wang will be examined by doctors, the official said. Hook is expected to return to the U.S. from Germany alone, as Wang is expected to be evaluated for several days.

“After more than three years of being held prisoner in Iran, Xiyue Wang is returning to the United States,” President Trump said in a statement released by the White House on Saturday. “The highest priority of the United States is the safety and well-being of its citizens.  Freeing Americans held captive is of vital importance to my Administration, and we will continue to work hard to bring home all our citizens wrongfully held captive overseas.”

In this Wednesday, May 9, 2018 file photo, Hua Qu, the wife of detained Chinese-American Xiyue Wang, poses for a photograph with a portrait of her family in Princeton, N.J. Iran's foreign minister says a detained Princeton graduate student will be exchanged for an Iranian scientist held by the U.S. Mohammed Javad Zarif made the announcement on Twitter on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019. The trade involves graduate student Xiyue Wang and scientist Massoud Soleimani. Wang was sentenced to 10 years in prison in Iran for allegedly “infiltrating” the country and sending confidential material abroad. His family and Princeton strongly denied the claims.  (AP)

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Saturday that Wang was on his way back to the United States, where he will soon be reunited with his wife and son.

"The United States will not rest until we bring every American detained in Iran and around the world back home to their loved ones," he said in a statement.

WIFE OF US SCHOLAR IMPRISONED IN IRAN SPEAKS OUT: 'HIS ONLY CRIME IS HE'S AMERICAN'

Wang was sentenced to 10 years in prison for allegedly “infiltrating” the country and sending confidential material abroad. His family and Princeton University strongly denied the claims.

According to the university, Wang was arrested while conducting research on the Qajar dynasty that once ruled Iran for his doctorate in late 19th and early 20th century Eurasian history.

His wife, Gua Qu, rejoiced over the news of his release in a statement on Twitter.

“Our family is complete once again. Our son Shaofan and I have waited three long years for this day and it’s hard to express in words how excited we are to be reunited with Xiyue,” the statement said. “We are thankful to everyone who helped make this happen.”

Wang’s release was negotiated with the assistance of the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, who looks out for America’s interests in the country as the U.S. Embassy there has been closed since the 1979 student takeover and 444-day hostage crisis.

Xiyue Wang with son Shaofan (Courtesy of Hua Qu)

Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported that Soleimani was with Iranian officials in Switzerland.

PENTAGON MULLS SENDING UP TO 7,000 ADDITIONAL FORCES TO MIDDLE EAST, OFFICIALS SAY

Soleimani — who works in stem cell research, hematology and regenerative medicine - was arrested by U.S. authorities on charges he had violated trade sanctions by trying to have biological material brought to Iran.

He and his lawyers maintain his innocence, saying he seized on a former student’s plans to travel from the U.S. to Iran in September 2016 as a chance to get recombinant proteins used in his research for a fraction of the price he’d pay at home.

"Glad that Professor Massoud Soleimani and Mr. Xiyue Wang will be joining their families shortly. Many thanks to all engaged, particularly the Swiss government," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a tweet.

US WANTS INFO ON IRANIAN PLANNER OF 2007 ATTACK THAT KILLED 5 US TROOPS, OFFERS $15M

Wang is one of at least four known Americans being held prisoner in Iran, all accused of spying.

Xiyue Wang and Hua Qu in an undated photo. (Courtesy of Hua Qu)

Hua Qu told Fox News in January that her husband was not a spy, but instead a "history nerd."

"All he wanted to do is to do good research and then teach for the rest of his life," she said at the time.

Iran has detained dual Iranian nationals and those with Western ties in the past to be used as bargaining chips in negotiations.

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Tensions have been high between Iran and the U.S. since President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers in May 2018. In the time since, the U.S. has imposed harsh sanctions on Iran's economy. There also have been a series of attacks across the Mideast that the U.S. blames on Iran.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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2019-12-07 11:31:17Z
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Trump halts plan to designate Mexican drug cartels as terrorists - BBC News

US President Donald Trump has delayed plans to legally designate Mexican drug cartels as terrorist groups.

Mr Trump had vowed to label the gangs as terrorists after the killing last month of nine American citizens from a Mormon community in Mexico.

But he has put the plans on hold on the request of his Mexican counterpart, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

"I celebrate that he has taken our opinion into account," the Mexican president said.

"We thank President Trump for respecting our decisions and for choosing to maintain a policy of good neighbourliness, a policy of cooperation with us," he added.

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Mr Trump's original announcement came after three women and six children of dual US-Mexican nationality were killed in an ambush in a remote area of northern Mexico.

Following the attack the victims' community, the LeBarons, petitioned the White House to list the cartels as terror groups, saying: "They are terrorists and it's time to acknowledge it."

The move would have widened the scope for US legal and financial action against cartels but Mexico saw it as a violation of its sovereignty.

The US president has now put the plans on hold.

"All necessary work has been completed to declare Mexican Cartels terrorist organizations," Mr Trump wrote on Twitter. "Statutorily we are ready to do so."

But Mr Trump said his Mexican counterpart is "a man who I like and respect, and has worked so well with us," adding that he was temporarily holding off on the designation and stepping up "joint efforts to deal decisively with these vicious and ever-growing organizations!"

He did not comment on how long the delay would last.

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Mexico's brutal drug war claims tens of thousands of lives every year, as powerful trafficking groups battle for territory and influence.

In 2017 more than 30,000 people were killed in the country, with the murder rate having more than tripled since 2006.

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2019-12-07 07:31:46Z
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UK's Johnson, Corbyn clash in final debate before election - Fox News

LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn clashed Friday night in the last head-to-head debate before a general election in six days — an underpowered showdown that saw both men stick to well-worn phrases and promises about their plans for Brexit and Britain’s future.

Johnson, a Conservative who supports Britain’s exit from the European Union, tried to portray Corbyn as a waffler with no firm Brexit stance who would plunge the United Kingdom into more uncertainty. Corbyn reminded viewers about the Conservative government’s spending cuts, and claimed Johnson was bent on striking a trade deal with the United States that might harm Britain’s interests.

TRUMP BOOSTS BORIS JOHNSON AS HE SHOOTS DOWN CORBYN'S NHS CLAIM

Each questioned the other’s character. Johnson accused Corbyn of a “failure of leadership” for failing to stamp out anti-Semitism in his party. Corbyn retorted that “a failure of leadership is when you use racist remarks,” as Johnson has done with glibly offensive language. In a magazine article last year he called Muslim women who wear face-covering veils “letter boxes.”

BBC moderator Nick Robinson suggested voters faced an “impossible choice” between two unpopular and untrustworthy leaders. That impression was reinforced Friday when two former prime ministers criticized their own party’s contenders. Former Conservative premier John Major called Brexit the "worst foreign policy decision in my lifetime," while ex-Labour leader Tony Blair urged voters to make the best of a “horrible” choice.”

Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, left, and Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, during a head to head live Election Debate at the BBC TV studios in Maidstone, England, Friday Dec. 6, 2019. (Associated Press)

Opinion polls put Johnson’s Conservatives ahead of the Labour opposition before the election next Thursday, in which all 650 House of Commons seats are up for grabs.

The Conservatives had a minority government before the election, and Johnson pushed for the Dec. 12 vote, which is taking place more than two years early, in hopes of winning a majority and breaking Britain's political impasse over Brexit. He says that if the Conservatives win a majority, he will get Parliament to ratify his Brexit divorce deal and take the U.K. out of the EU by the current Jan. 31 deadline.

In the debate, Johnson contrasted that promise with Corbyn’s refusal to say whether he favored leaving the bloc or remaining. Labour has promised to negotiate a new Brexit deal, then give voters a choice between leaving on those terms and remaining in the bloc. Corbyn says he would be neutral in that referendum.

“You cannot end the uncertainty on Brexit if you do not know what the deal is that you want to do,” Johnson said. “You cannot negotiate a deal if you are neutral on it.”

“You cannot end the uncertainty on Brexit if you do not know what the deal is that you want to do. You cannot negotiate a deal if you are neutral on it.”

— Boris Johnson, British prime minister

Johnson's opponents say his promise to “get Brexit done” rings hollow, because leaving the bloc will be the prelude to months or years of complex trade negotiations.

Corbyn claimed that under a Johnson government, Britain would “walk out of the EU into a relationship with nobody” and spend years trying to strike a new trade deal with the United States. He said that would bring “seven years of complete uncertainty and continued job losses in manufacturing and industry.”

The two men also tussled over security in the wake of last week’s deadly attack in London by a knife-wielding man who had served a prison sentence for terrorist crimes. Johnson tried to portray Corbyn — a longtime anti-war and anti-nuclear campaigner — as soft on security. Corbyn highlighted cuts to police and prison services under the Conservatives.

Johnson’s party is promising to increase public spending if it wins the election, and Corbyn tackled Johnson on inflated promises, such as a claim his government will build 40 news hospitals. In fact that number includes many existing facilities that will be renovated.

Labour also took aim Friday at Johnson’s insistence that there will be no new checks on trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the U.K. after Brexit. The divorce deal Johnson has negotiated with the bloc agrees to keep Northern Ireland aligned to EU customs rules and some goods standards to avoid checks along the currently invisible border with EU member Ireland.

Trade experts say that means some checks will have to be conducted on goods moving across the Irish Sea between Britain and Northern Ireland.

Labour said it had obtained a leaked Treasury document that says “there will be customs declarations and security checks between Northern Ireland and Great Britain,” and Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay has previously said there will have to be some checks.

Corbyn said the document “drives a coach and horses through Boris Johnson's claim that there will be no border in the Irish Sea."

But Johnson claimed it was “nonsense” to suggest there would be any new checks. The Conservative Party said the leaked document was an "immediate assessment” rather than a detailed analysis.

Labour has a radical domestic agenda, promising to nationalize key industries and utilities, hike the minimum wage and give free internet access to all.

The party has struggled to persuade voters that its lavish spending promises are deliverable without big tax hikes. Labour's campaign also has been dogged by allegations that Corbyn — a long-time champion of the Palestinians — has allowed anti-Jewish prejudice to fester in the left-of-center party.

Corbyn has called anti-Semitism "a poison and an evil in our society" and says he is working to root it out of the party.

This election is especially unpredictable because the question of Brexit cuts across traditional party loyalties. For many voters, their identities as "leavers" or "remainers" are more important than party affiliations.

The Conservative lead suggests the party has managed to win over many Brexit-backing voters, while Labour faces competition for pro-EU electors from the centrist Liberal Democrats and several smaller parties.

But the Conservatives have also lost support from some pro-EU voters by taking a strongly pro-Brexit stance. Several ex-Conservative lawmakers who were expelled for rebelling over Brexit are running against their old party as independents.

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The independent former Tories were endorsed Friday by former Conservative Prime Minister John Major, who called Brexit the "worst foreign policy decision in my lifetime."

"It will make our country poorer and weaker,” he said. “It will hurt most those who have least.”

In another blow to Johnson's claims that Britain will be better off outside the EU, Britain’s Brexit envoy in Washington quitthis week, saying she no longer wants to “peddle half-truths on behalf of a government I do not trust."

Alexandra Hall Hall resigned as the embassy’s Brexit counselor with a letter slamming the British government’s use of “misleading” arguments and reluctance “to address honestly” the challenges and trade-offs involved in leaving the EU.

Associated Press writer Danica Kirka contributed to this report.

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2019-12-07 10:03:55Z
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Unnao rape case: Indian woman set on fire on way to hearing dies - BBC News

An Indian woman who was set on fire on her way to testify against her alleged rapists has died of her injuries.

The 23-year-old died late on Friday after suffering cardiac arrest at a Delhi hospital. She had 90% burns.

She was attacked on Thursday as she was walking to a hearing in the rape case she filed against two men in March in Unnao, in northern Uttar Pradesh state.

Five men, including the alleged rapists, have been arrested, Indian police say.

The sister of the victim, whose name has not been released, told the BBC that she wanted the death penalty for the pair.

She said the family would continue to fight the case against them in court.

Rape and sexual violence against women have been in focus in India since the December 2012 gang-rape and murder of a young woman on a bus in the capital, Delhi.

But there has been no sign that crimes against women are abating.

According to government figures, police registered 33,658 cases of rape in India in 2017, an average of 92 rapes every day.

Unnao district has itself been in the news over another rape case.

Police opened a murder investigation against a ruling party lawmaker in July after a woman who accused him of rape was seriously injured in a car crash. Two of her aunts were killed and her lawyer was injured.

Separately, on Friday, Indian police shot dead four men suspected of raping and killing a young female vet in the southern city of Hyderabad last week.

That case sparked widespread outrage, and the killing of the suspects, in what rights activists believe may have been an extra-judicial killing, sparked jubilation among local residents.

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2019-12-07 06:52:37Z
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France Braces for Second Day of Pension Strikes as Unions Dig In - The New York Times

PARIS — Angry railway employees, teachers and other workers in France showed no signs of backing down from a nationwide strike on Friday, having brought public transportation to a standstill in a protest over President Emmanuel Macron’s plans to overhaul the nation’s pension system.

Travel was expected to be severely limited between French cities on Friday, with nine out of 10 high-speed trains and seven out of 10 regional express trains likely to be canceled. Stations around the country were almost empty, and some schools remained closed.

In Paris, most metro lines were shut down and bus services were heavily disrupted. The streets were filled with more bicycles and electric scooters than usual, as Parisians used alternative measures to zip around stalled traffic in parts of the capital.

Transportation disruptions were expected to continue into the weekend and early next week, and labor unions announced on Friday that they were planning for new demonstrations on Tuesday, including a march in southern Paris.

Bernadette Groison, the head of one of France’s largest teachers union, told reporters after a meeting with other labor groups that they were “determined” to make the strikes last.

“This is not a mood swing lasting a couple days,” she said.

The government was faced with huge protests in Paris and other cities on Thursday, some of the biggest in recent years. The authorities estimated that at least 800,000 people demonstrated across the country, with labor unions putting the figure at 1.5 million.

France’s health minister, Agnès Buzyn, said that the government had “heard” the protesters’ message. “We know the anger” of the French people, Ms. Buzyn told Europe 1 radio.

The government said it was open to discussions about the details of Mr. Macron’s plan, but it showed no signs of retreating from its broad outlines. Seeking to streamline France’s generous pension system by combining a complex web of 42 pension schemes, it would create a points-based system for every worker, regardless of status or sector.

The lack of specifics has left many French residents, many of whom distrust Mr. Macron, believing that their pensions will decrease.

It is not clear, for instance, when the pension changes would go into effect and for which generation, or how workers currently in a special pension scheme, like railway workers, would make the transition to a unified scheme. It is also unclear how difficult working conditions would be taken into account.

Jean-Paul Delevoye, a French politician whom Mr. Macron has put in charge of a report on pension changes, acknowledged on Thursday that some workers felt they would be cheated out of benefits that had been promised to them years ago.

But he said that a universal points-based system would be “more understandable” and fairer. “We will bring answers to the worries that are being expressed,” he said.

Mr. Delevoye’s comments on Friday came a day after transportation workers, hospitals employees, refinery staff, garbage collectors, teachers, police officers and firefighters took to the streets to express their discontent over Mr. Macron’s plans.

Sporadic violence peppered the protests in Paris, Rennes, Bordeaux and other cities. The police fired tear gas as they faced off with some protesters.

Édouard Philippe, France’s prime minister, told reporters on Thursday evening that despite the scattered clashes between the police and violent groups called “breakers,” the “demonstrations went fine pretty much everywhere in France.”

Labor union leaders are scheduled to meet with the government on Monday, and Mr. Philippe is expected to give the “general architecture” of the pension plans next week. But it is unclear whether that will placate the striking workers, some of whom have vowed to continue until the plans are scrapped altogether.

Philippe Martinez, the head of the General Confederation of Labor, one of the largest unions opposed to the pension overhaul, called for renewed pressure on the government.

“Strikes need to spread to all companies,” Mr. Martinez said on LCI, a television news channel.

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2019-12-06 11:18:00Z
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