ATLANTA -- The Iran hostage crisis may have ended 35 years ago, but for the 52 people held captive and tortured for 444 days the memory never fades.
On January 20th, several former hostages gathered for a phone conference to thank lawmakers for passing legislation that would allow them to be compensated for their time and suffering. Senator Johnny Isakson says these hostages were the only U.S. citizens, victims of state-sponsored terrorism, that were not given the right to sue. He explained that as part of the Algiers Accord, the agreement that led to their release, the hostages were barred from seeking any judgment against Iran.
Isakson says seven years ago he started to fight to find a way around that rule. This year he says an opportunity emerged, with the judgment against BNP Paribas, a French bank that had illegally processed financial transactions for Iran and two other countries. Isakson says in the omnibus appropriations package, Congress approved using $1 billion from the $3 billion judgment to create a fund for victims of state-sponsored terrorism.
"Iran has never been a very trustworthy partner to negotiate with or deal with. So when you have an opportunity to strike, if you don't do it when the iron's hot, you're probably never going to be successful," said Isakson.
