Iranian pro-regime media on Wednesday discussed Iran’s meeting with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The Iranian regime held a meeting with the committee’s president, according to Iran’s own regime media: Press TV and Fars News. Press TV also said that “the Israeli regime has, throughout the war, been stonewalling Hamas’s ‘positive approaches’ concerning the issue of the prisoners of war.”

This would appear to indicate that Iran has a role in Hamas hostage-taking. Iran has backed Hamas in the wake of the October 7 attack. Iran’s media refers to “civilian prisoners” held by the terrorist group and discusses the “readiness for exchanging more,” which could indicate that Iran is directly in contact with Hamas and representing the terror group in talks with the ICRC.

“The American administration, too, has ramped up the intensity of the war on Gaza with its all-out presence and support for the Zionist regime,” Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said in a meeting with ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger in Geneva on Wednesday, Press TV reported. 

Foreign minister Eli Cohen demanded that the Red Cross do more to establish contact with hostages abducted in the Gaza Strip, according to a report on November 15. “Cohen made his remarks on Tuesday in Geneva, where he held talks with several relatives at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and UN organizations,” a report from Switzerland noted.

“To date, no one has seen the hostages,” said Cohen. “We have no signs of life.” The ICRC, the UN, and various human rights groups have done nothing to aid the 240 hostages held by Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza since October 7.

According to the regime’s own Press TV reports, Amir-Abdollahian met with the ICRC head. The committee also held talks with the Iranian foreign minister on October 10 according to the Iranian Foreign Affairs Ministry. The ICRC has thus had talks with Iran at least twice since the Hamas attacks on October 7, but has not contacted the hostages in Gaza or done anything to help them publicly.

Kidnapping is not new for Iranian-backed groups

Iranian-backed groups have often kidnapped civilians in other countries. For instance, Iranian-backed militias kidnapped Elizabeth Tsurkov in Iraq, an Israeli-Russian researcher who was affiliated with Princeton. A recent video of her released by the extremist Kataib Hezbollah group shows her being forced to speak on video about her kidnapping. She has also not been visited by the Red Cross.  

Tehran regime media appears to admit that Iran is behind Hamas’s kidnapping of hostages and holding them.

Iran’s Press TV says that “the Israeli regime has, throughout the war, been stonewalling Hamas’ ‘positive approaches’ concerning the issue of the prisoners of war.” Press TV goes on to note that “The foreign minister was referring to the Palestinian resistance movement’s release of several civilian prisoners, and its expression of readiness for exchanging more.

“The regime has, however, ruled out the prospect, pressing with its atrocities against Gaza,” it said. This appears to indicate that Iran is behind Hamas’s kidnapping of civilians including women and children, and people from numerous countries around the world, such as Thailand and Russia. The genocidal terrorist group also massacred foreign workers from Nepal and Thailand. However, Turkey, Russia, China, and other countries have not condemned attacks by the terrorist group.  

“The ICRC chief, for her part, thanked the Islamic Republic for its trust in the committee and positive contribution to its missions,” according to the Press TV report and Fars News. The Red Cross head Egger “said both sides are worried about the situation in Gaza, noting that the committee was trying to stay neutral in the conflict and perform its humanitarian duties.” Both Press TV and Fars News indicate that Iran is representing Hamas in talks with the ICRC.

Seth Frantzman is the author of Drone Wars: Pioneers, Killing Machine, Artificial Intelligence and the Battle for the Future (Bombardier 2021) and an adjunct fellow at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies.