Iran and Hostage Diplomacy with Nizar Zakka

Description

Taking hostages has been a mainstay of the Iranian regime’s foreign policy since the U.S. embassy seizure in 1979, enabling it to extract concessions from the West (recall the $6 billion just paid for five hostages). What benefits has hostage taking brought Tehran? What harm has it done the West? What can the outside world do to end this practice?

Nizar Hakka, a Lebanese national with U.S. permanent-resident status, attended a conference on entrepreneurship in 2015 in Tehran to at the invitation of the Iranian Government. Kidnapped by the IRGC on his way to the airport, he spent almost four years in captivity. Upon his release, he established Hostage Aid Worldwide, a U.S. non-profit organization that assists “hostage victims and their families by providing insights on their cases, coordination with governments & UN bodies” and develops “a strategy to disrupt the hostage business model.” He holds a B.S. and M.S. from the University of Texas.