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Last month representatives of each of the imprisoned men’s families appeared before Congress to remind them that as long as nuclear negotiations were ongoing, the U.S. had its best chance to get them home.

“These next few weeks is a very crucial time. If we don’t get the Americans out, I don’t know when we’ll have more leverage,” Nagameh Abedini said then.

While some lawmakers said in that session the U.S. should not sign a deal without the Americans’ release, other lawmakers and Obama administration officials said the Americans’ freedom should not be contingent on a nuclear deal.

“We’ve also been clear that we will not allow these American citizens to be used as bargaining chips,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said in early June.

He added that the White House will continue to raise the cases of the imprisoned and missing Americans with Iranian officials, both privately and publicly, until they’ve been released.

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