Family of US resident held in Iran call on Biden administration to do more following hunger strike

Darian Dalili has not seen his father since 2016, when Shahab traveled to Iran for a family funeral and was detained.

The Dalili family had been hopeful that their seven year nightmare could be coming to an end amid reports that a fourth unnamed American might be included in a deal with Tehran, Darian told CNN. Shahab is an Iranian citizen and a US legal permanent resident.

“But then when the actual official news broke out, all those hopes were crushed,” Darian said.

“The first thing I did, I took my phone and I send out an email to the few people that I had email addresses from in the State Department … and I included this line on the bottom: ‘You are leaving my father to die,’” he added.

The US State Department has said that the five Americans – two of whom remain unnamed – released on house arrest and included in the deal are classified as wrongfully detained – a designation that has not been given to Shahab.

Both father and son launched a multi-day hunger strike and Darian has protested in front of the White House and the State Department in the hopes of getting answers.

“It’s a decision of frustration, of disappointment, and of desperation,” Darian told CNN.

He said his father, who is imprisoned in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, had tried to convince him not to do a hunger strike out of concern about the lasting impact on Darian’s health, but when his son could not be persuaded out of it, Shahab decided to join him. Darian ended his hunger strike on Tuesday out of concern for his 60 year old father’s health because “he’s not giving up until I give up.”

Darian explained that Shahab had worked as a ship captain for trading ships before retiring and coming to the US with his family. He had traveled to Iran to attend his father’s funeral in 2016 and was detained on his way…