Senate passes resolution on Iran hostages

The Senate overwhelmingly passed a resolution Monday calling on Iran to release three Americans currently being held by the country.



Senators voted 90-0 Monday on the resolution from Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho).

Republican presidential candidates Sens. Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Ted Cruz (Texas), as well as Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.), who is considering a bid, missed the vote.



Cruz has recently garnered criticism over his voting record, including being the only senator to miss a final vote on Loretta Lynch’s nomination for attorney general. The Texas Republican was scheduled to be in Iowa Monday but had to cancel events because of flight delays caused by severe weather.



Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who was speaking in Charlottesville, Va., also missed the vote. 
The resolution says Iran should release Saeed Abedini, Amir Hekmati and Jason Rezaian, and cooperate with efforts to find Robert Levinson, an American who vanished in Iran in 2007.



The resolution comes in the wake of a 98-1 vote on legislation that will allow Congress to review and vote on a final deal on Iran’s nuclear program.



Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said earlier Monday that he believes all senators can agree that, “at the very least, the American government should not be rewarding Iran for disgraceful human rights abuses.”



The Kentucky Republican added that, with the passage of the hostage resolution, the Senate is calling on the administration “to use the tools it has” to secure the release of the Americans being held by Iran.



Senators had hoped to include an amendment on the American hostages as 
part of that legislation, but votes on amendments were effectively 
blocked, after McConnell filed cloture to end debate on the Iran 
proposal.



Risch said Monday that he had also hoped to have “stronger language” on his Iran resolution, but he added, “Nonetheless, we have what we have.”



The Idaho Republican slammed the Obama administration for agreeing to hold the nuclear talks with Iran before Iran released the Americans.



“They shouldn’t have sat down at the table before these four people were released, or accounted for,” he said.



But Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), who represents the state Levinson is from, said he hopes and “prayerfully” expects that, if a final deal can be reached on Iran’s nuclear program, the American hostages will be released.

He said he hopes, 
if there is a “successfully concluded negotiation to prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon, that the government of Iran will immediately release all of these Americans that are in jail, that we know about. Likewise, [Iran] will make the effort to find Bob and bring him home.”



Negotiators are currently facing a June 30 deadline to finalize a deal, after releasing a framework agreement in April.