![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/hostages-iran.avif\")
<\/a><\/p>\nA poster is hung in Tehran’s Revolution Square featuring an image of the Statue of Liberty, and photographs of several heads of state to mark the 46th anniversary of the U.S. Embassy takeover and hostage crisis in Tehran, Iran on November 5, 2025. (Fatemeh Bahrami\/Anadolu via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cThe United States must be unequivocal: the wrongful detention or hostage-taking of Americans will not be accepted or sidelined,\u201d the ADJ said in a statement issued jointly with other North American groups. \u201cOur adversaries must recognize that harming Americans has lasting consequences, and Americans must be assured that their government will pursue their return with unwavering resolve.\u201d<\/p>\n
Along with the AJC, the call came from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights and United Against Nuclear Iran. The co-founders of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum U.S., the American branch of the group that advocated for the Israeli hostages in Gaza, also signed on.<\/p>\n
The groups celebrated the Trump administration\u2019s record of negotiating hostage releases, writing that it had \u201calready demonstrated an extraordinary record in recovering Americans from hostile regions, securing the release of over 70 Americans since January 2025, including every last hostage held in Gaza, living or deceased.\u201d<\/p>\n
The groups wrote, \u201cThe ability of the U.S. to lead in the recovery of not just Americans held in Gaza, but to secure the release of all hostages taken by Hamas showcases that the time to act decisively is now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among those in captivity is Robert Levinson, a Jewish retired FBI special agent who went missing in Iran in 2007 during a business trip. Levinson\u2019s family announced that he had died in Iranian custody in 2020.<\/p>\n
\u201cPresident Trump has brought more than 70 Americans home since January 2025,\u201d Levinson\u2019s family said in a statement. \u201cWe urge him to make Bob and every American held in Iran a priority in these talks \u2014 and to demand that the men responsible for our father\u2019s abduction finally account for what they did. After 19 years, please help our family get the truth we need to move forward, and give our heroic father the justice he so rightfully deserves.\u201d<\/p>\n
The statements came as Trump announced that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to a 10-day ceasefire, a condition that Iran has said was essential for any longer-term peace deal with the United States and Israel.<\/p>\n
On Friday, Trump told Axios that he expected a permanent deal with Iran to be reached \u201cin the next day or two,\u201d and negotiators for the two countries are expected to meet over the coming days.<\/p>\n
The potential deal, which has largely focused on suspending Iran\u2019s nuclear activity, is not expected to include any provisions about the release of American hostages, which are often handled through separate negotiations. In 2023, former President Joe Biden negotiated the release of five American prisoners in Iran in exchange for releasing $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets.<\/p>\n
There are signs that the United States is interested in securing the release of Americans in Iran. In February, Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated Iran as a \u201cstate sponsor of wrongful detention,\u201d writing in a release at the time that \u201cfor decades, Iran has continued to cruelly detain innocent Americans, as well as citizens of other nations, to use as political leverage against other states.\u201d<\/p>\n
While it is unclear exactly how many American hostages are currently in Iranian captivity, United Against Nuclear Iran currently maintains a list of 13 individuals.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Iranian regime must stop taking hostages and release all Americans unjustly detained in Iran, steps that could end this designation and associated actions,\u201d Rubio said. \u201cWe encourage it to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Jewish and pro-Israel group are calling on the Trump administration to \u201cmake the safety, security, and freedom of Americans held captive in Iran a top priority and ensure this is integrated into broader strategic discussions regarding Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n
They added, \u201cWe stand ready to work with the Administration to bring every American held in Iran home safely and swiftly. There is no time to waste\u2014the moral and strategic imperative is clear.\u201d<\/p>\n