Unusual direct negotiations fail to win freedom for American jailed nearly 2 years in Iran

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Direct talks fail to free American jailed in Iran

WASHINGTON — Iran recently held highly unusual direct talks with a former U.S. government official over the fate of a 71-year-old American businessman jailed in Iran, even while rejecting President Barack Obama’s proposal for broader discussions between the two estranged governments.

Reza Taghavi has been held in near-secrecy in Tehran’s Evin prison for almost two years. Unlike the better-known case of three American hikers who apparently strayed into Iranian territory, U.S. authorities have said almost nothing about Taghavi since his arrest. His family has also remained relatively quiet.

The latest talks concluded last week, in advance of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s appearance during a nuclear non-proliferation conference at the United Nations in New York. But they ended in disappointment for Taghavi’s family, when his lawyer returned from Tehran without him.

Although Iran accuses Taghavi of passing $200 in cash to an Iranian man tied to an allegedly violent opposition group, he has not been charged with a crime and denies knowingly supporting the group. He is one of at least five Americans believed jailed in Iran.

His family says he suffers from diabetes and is in poor health, and his lawyer has asked Iran to free him on humanitarian grounds.

Lawyer Pierre Prosper has made two trips to Iran for rare face-to-face negotiations with Iranian authorities. On last week’s trip, Prosper carried a plane ticket for Taghavi and had hoped to escort him home.

“We presented additional information regarding Mr. Taghavi’s case to show he was unaware” that the cash, given by a family friend, would go to someone linked to the anti-regime group Tondar, Prosper told The Associated Press.

It wasn’t enough. Prosper said he thinks he made progress, but there is no guarantee Taghavi will be released soon, if at all.

“This has all been so difficult. We just want him home,” Taghavi’s daughter, Leila Taghavi, said in a recent interview from her home in Burbank, Calif. She said her father’s impulse to help people got him into trouble. “He’s the most kind and giving person. He taught us to be good to people and to do good deeds,” she said.

Iran may be weighing a decision on whether to release Taghavi based on how it will play at home and abroad. Releasing Taghavi could be billed as a humanitarian gesture, while putting him on trial could illustrate its fight against internal threats to overthrow the regime.

Or Iran may be waiting to see whether Prosper, a senior State Department official under President George W. Bush, could ultimately serve as a go-between with the U.S. government.

Meanwhile, Iran has asked Prosper to inform U.S. authorities of alleged illegal activity by Tondar. The Iranian expatriate group has members in southern California, home to both Taghavi and a large Iranian expatriate community.

Prosper said he agreed to talk to the State Department and the FBI, but he told the Iranians that as a lawyer in private practice he couldn’t do much more than that.

“They don’t really understand our system. They thought I could do more,” said Prosper, now with the firm Arent Fox in Los Angeles.

The talks over Taghavi’s fate came as the United States and European allies are seeking tougher economic sanctions on Iran over its disputed nuclear program. Iran has previously used prisoners as bargaining chips in negotiations, but Prosper and U.S. officials said there has been no talk of a quid pro quo in Taghavi’s case.

Still, Iran’s decision to listen to the appeal suggests it may feel under pressure. The U.S. is pressing China and Russia to endorse stiffer international sanctions against Iran in the U.N. Security Council, in an effort to discourage Iran from its alleged pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has ruled out a prisoner swap in the hikers’ case, and Iran has promised a swift trial for the three. Another imprisoned American, academic Kian Tajbakhsh, was arrested last year and charged with espionage.

The U.S. government has also asked Iran to provide information on the whereabouts of a sixth American, who went missing in Iran three years ago.

A group of Democratic senators used Ahmadinejad’s visit to U.S. soil to issue a new appeal to release the hikers.

“We are asking for just a spark of humanitarianism from the government of Iran in releasing these three young people,” Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., said Tuesday. “Iran’s efforts to couple their navigational error with major international political issues is egregious.”