US sanctions Russia, Iran entities for detaining Americans

The Biden administration on Thursday sanctioned Russia’s Federal Security Service and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence organization for wrongfully detaining Americans

The Biden administration on Thursday sanctioned Russia's Federal Security Service and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence organization for wrongfully detaining Americans.

It's the first rollout of new sanctions authorities established last year by President Joe Biden for use against those holding Americans unjustly captive. Still, the sanctions are largely symbolic, since both organizations already are under sweeping existing sanctions for an array of malevolent behavior — from election interference and Russia's invasion of Ukraine to support for terrorist activity.

Senior administration officials declined to specify which detentions specifically underpinned the sanctions, saying they were a response to a pattern of actions by the two countries in unjustly holding Americans both currently and in the past. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the thinking behind the sanctions.

They noted that Thursday's actions were in the works well before the arrest last month of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Russia, whose imprisonment was swiftly deemed unjust by the U.S. government. He joins American Paul Whelan with that designation in Russia.

In addition to targeting the two organizations, the administration is also adding additional sanctions on four IRGC leaders it alleges are involved in hostage taking efforts.

The senior administration officials said that relief from the sanctions could be used as an inducement in negotiations to try to secure the release of the Americans held overseas.

Biden last year issued an executive order relying on a section of the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act — named after a retired FBI agent who vanished in Iran 15 years ago and is now presumed dead — that authorizes the president to impose sanctions, including visa revocations, on people believed to be involved in the wrongful detention of Americans.

The announcement comes ahead of the annual dinner of the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation next week, an event expected to include as guests multiple former hostages and detainees as well as advocates for that population. In addition, there is a candlelight vigil planned for next week and a press conference scheduled outside the White House to raise the plight of those detained.

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AP writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report.