Former Iranian hostage Barry Rosen. Photo: Facebook

One of the victims of the Iran hostage crisis is launching a hunger strike this week to pressure Washington and its allies to make the return of current hostages held by the Islamic Republic a precondition to any nuclear deal.

Talks to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers are currently ongoing in Vienna. Former President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the accord in 2018, accusing it of empowering Iran and only delaying its ability to develop nuclear weapons.

Barry Rosen, who was one of 52 Americans held hostage for over a year by militants who stormed the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979, announced in a video posted to Twitter on Sunday, “The hostage crisis hasn’t ended for many others, Americans and Westerners, who are now being held as bargaining chips in Iran. There are at least two dozen of them. It’s clear to me that the release of the hostages can only take place if the United States and countries like the United States pressure Iran.”

Rosen said he will travel on Tuesday to Vienna and stage his hunger strike there.

“My message is simple,” he said. “No deal with Iran unless the hostages are free. And this message is a message I will deliver both to the Iranian and the American delegations in Vienna.”

“I will be speaking truth to Iran, and yes, while I am nervous about my health at this age, I think what I’m doing is the right thing for the hostages and the families,” he added.

Rosen asked supporters to amplify his message with the hashtag #FreeTheHostages, saying, “The more voices we have, the stronger we will get.”

Kylie Moore-Gilbert, an Australian-British academic who was held hostage in Iran for more than two years, wrote in response, “Former US embassy hostage Barry Rosen is planning on going on hunger strike at the nuclear talks in Vienna to demand the US nominates the release of all hostages as a precondition of any potential deal signed with Iran. We salute you.”

Another former hostage, Chinese-American student Xiyue Wang, wrote, “My prayer to my friend Barry Rosen for his health during his hunger strike in Vienna to demand the release of foreign hostages in Iran.”

“Team Biden should feel duly embarrassed — despite its concessions to Iran, no American or other foreign hostage has been released,” he added.