The G7’s Deafening Silence on Ending Hostage Diplomacy
The G7 Foreign Ministers have just issued their latest joint communiqué on Iran and the Middle East. Predictably, it focused on nuclear safeguards, the recent ceasefire between Israel and Iran, and calls for regional de-escalation.
But amid the recycled language and diplomatic orthodoxy, one omission stood out: the total failure to mention Americans and Europeans wrongfully detained by Iran. This was not an oversight. It was a deliberate political choice.
Tehran continues to hold foreign nationals hostage, including U.S. nationals and Europeans, using their lives as bargaining chips in a game of statecraft. These detentions are not legal; they are calculated acts of coercion.
Yet the leaders of the world’s leading democracies, gathered in The Hague, declined even to acknowledge their citizens languishing in Evin Prison and similar detention sites.
Especially jarring was Canada’s silence. Ottawa has long claimed a leadership role in this space, spearheading the Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations and rallying more than 80 countries to sign on to it. But when the moment came to press the point—publicly and collectively—Canada chose alignment over accountability.
This is more than a diplomatic failure—it’s a strategic delusion. The notion that there are “two tracks” for dealing with the Islamic Republic—one for diplomacy, another for hostage cases—is a dangerous fiction. It’s a fiction that is getting Americans and Europeans kidnapped, and in some cases, killed.
For adversaries like Iran, silence is often perceived as tacit approval. If the G7 does not speak with clarity and consequence, the regime’s cost-benefit analysis remains unchanged, and the next victim is already at risk.
To shift that calculus, words must be backed by action: visa restrictions, travel designations, economic sanctions, and coordinated diplomatic pressure. These tools exist. What is lacking is the political will to utilize them.
Just last month, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) released a report (attached) that thoroughly examined this challenge. I was part of the commission that spent over a year studying these issues. The report concluded that unless governments impose real, reversible costs for hostage diplomacy, the practice will deepen. It also urged countries to adopt unified public messaging and legal designations that more accurately describe the crime—state hostage-taking, not just “wrongful detention.”
That idea—calling things what they are—is not radical. It’s the bare minimum.
The report echoed what families of the detained and their advocates have said for years: hostage diplomacy thrives in the shadows of polite diplomacy. And meaningful deterrence demands moral clarity.
The Trump administration, now six months into its return, has an opportunity to reset the tone. The United States should lead, not just behind closed doors, but openly and unequivocally. And G7 partners must meet that standard or risk fading into irrelevance in the eyes of their citizens and taxpayers.
To shift that calculus, words must be backed by action: visa restrictions, travel designations, economic sanctions, coordinated diplomatic pressure, and all instruments of state power. These tools exist. What is lacking is the political will to utilize them.
That includes the U.S. While American diplomats often lead behind closed doors, public clarity and consistent application of pressure are equally vital. The U.S. should more forcefully deploy the legal and diplomatic instruments at its disposal—from designating regimes under existing hostage-taking authorities to enforcing consequences under the Levinson Act and Magnitsky sanctions. Silence or delay by America only invites more abuse.
For those wrongfully imprisoned, every day is a slow erosion of dignity. For their families, it is an unrelenting plea for action. Today’s G7 statement turned away from both. It didn’t have to. Responsible nations and stakeholders can—and must—do better. That begins with the courage to speak plainly and act accordingly.
This challenge extends far beyond Iran or the Middle East. How we respond to state hostage-taking sets a precedent worldwide, including right here in the Americas. The free world must send a stronger message: ending hostage diplomacy is not just a talking point—it must be a priority.