The US State Department has called for the release of all American citizens “wrongfully detained” by the Islamic Republic of Iran, as nuclear talks start next week in Vienna.

As the State Department daily briefing kicked off on Friday, spokesman Ned Price noted that this weekend marks the 2,000 days since Iran arrested Siamak Namazi “for being a U.S. citizen.” Although the Biden administrations does not call American detainees in Iran as hostages but saying that Namazi was arrested for being a US citizen is an implicit recognition that he is in fact a hostage.

Price also noted that when Siamak Namazi’s 84-year-old father, Baquer Namazi, traveled to Iran to help free him, “the Iranian government arrested him too.”

The State Department spokesman added that both Namazis were sentences to prison “on baseless charges, while “the Namazi family has suffered for five and a half years while the Iranian Government continues to treat their husband, father, son, and brother as political pawns. This terrible milestone should offend all who believe in the rule of law.”

“We call on Iran to immediately and safely release all U.S. citizens who are wrongfully detained in Iran, including the Namazis, Emad Sharghi, and Morad Tahbaz, who is a U.K. citizen. Iran must also account for the fate of Robert Levinson and other U.S. citizens who are missing or abducted in Iran. The abhorrent act of unjust detentions for political gain must cease immediately – whether in Iran or anywhere around the world,” Price reiterated.

Babak Namazi, brother and son of the two detainees in February called on the Biden Administration to make their release a part of any agreement with Iran. "My family expects that President Biden and his administration will not make concessions or deals with Iran that do not includ the release of my father and Siamak as a precondition," Babak Namazi told an online news conference.

Responding to a question, the spokesman once again demanded the “safe return of all U.S. citizens,” and repeated the ordeal of the Namazis and the fate of Robert Levinson and “all other U.S. citizens who were actually abducted in the country.”

The Biden administration says it wants to return to the 2015 nuclear deal abandoned by former President Donald Trump, but it also wants a more comprehensive agreement with Tehran that addresses its ballistic missiles and “destabilizing role” in the region. The fate of US detainees in Iran has not been mentioned as part of a political deal, and it is not clear if the issue will be one of the demands the US intends to raise.

Iran has a history of taking foreigners hostage to gain leverage in any negotiations with the West, particularly the United States. The Trump administration often highlighted Iran’s human rights violations and the fate of the detainees.