As the US prepares for a new round of talks with Iran, the fate of six Americans still held by the regime is right now hanging in the balance. Chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin reports from Washington that a key unresolved issue with Iran is whether the White House will press for the release of these six Americans who remain wrongfully detained.

At least two of these Americans are held in the notorious Evin Prison. One is Kaman Hecmati, a 61-year-old Jewish Iranian-American grandfather from Long Island who was visiting family in Iran last spring when he was arrested over a trip to Israel 13 years ago for his son’s bar mitzvah. The other is 49-year-old journalist Reza Valzed, who worked for Radio Free Europe for 10 years and returned in 2024 to care for his parents. Fox News obtained audio of Reza from inside the prison, where he describes the physical pressure and mental torture being exerted against them.

Reza’s attorney, Ryan Fehey, is urging the administration to make the release of all detained Americans a priority, noting the frustration that the US released more than 60 captured Iranian sailors in May without receiving anything in return. He argues that the administration should focus on securing the release of these detainees as “low-hanging fruit.”

In February, one day before Operation Epic Fury began, Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated Iran a state sponsor of wrongful detention, a label only shared with Afghanistan. The designation calls for the Iranian regime to stop taking hostages and release all unjustly detained Americans. The family of Kaman Hecmati, who is currently battling bladder cancer without access to necessary medical care, wrote to President Trump on June 9th, pleading for his urgent intervention.