Jailed Christian Pastor Saeed Abedini's circumstances "have gotten worse for him" since the Iran nuclear deal was announced in July, his wife told
Newsmax TV on Wednesday.
"I'm not a politician, but from day one we said Iran's not going to release them unless there's leverage," Naghmeh Abedini told "The Steve Malzberg Show" in an interview. "We've lost that leverage now — and we've said before they even sat down to speak regarding the nuclear deal two years ago, 'Demand the release of the Americans.'
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"We said, 'Before you walk away from the deal, make sure they're released and secured,'" she added. "And all along, our government has been saying, 'Oh, they'll do the right thing.'
"We've created the environment for them to act in good faith," Abedini said. "Now, they said they were wrong — and we've lost the leverage."
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani proposed over the weekend that the U.S. and Iran swap prisoners held in each other’s jails, which would free Saeed Abedini and Jason Rezaian, the Tehran bureau chief for The Washington Post.
Naghmeh Abedini, who had sent word to Iranian officials that she wanted to talk directly with them, remained suspicious of Rouhani's proffer.
"They received my message, but they have not met with me," she told Malzberg. "I didn't really think they would want to meet with me. They don't like me, but I wanted them to get the message that I was here in New York and that I will continue to push for my husband's release."