In the midst of an unexpected break in Iranian nuclear talks, President Obama is calling for the return of Americans held in Iran (see below).

Well, BRAVO! Except these hostages – whom we've written about extensively on these pages (e.g., here, here, here, here and here) – have been held by Iran under terrible conditions for years.

In 2013, in the middle of 'negotiations' with Iran, we wrote:

"Really, Mr. Kerry? And what about Iran’s continued sponsorship of terrorism
throughout the world? Also, did you happen to mention during negotiations the
case of American pastor Saeed Abedini, currently being held and tortured in a
notorious Iranian jail, and denied medical treatment, all because he is an
'unclean Christian'?"

The hostages were never mentioned, not before or during the negotiations, until now. Did Obama suddenly realize after all these years that Americans were being held hostage by Iran?

Could it be that this is being set up as a distraction/justification for a bad deal with Iran? Or maybe an excuse to use against PM Netanyahu should negotiations fail?

While our prayers are for the (long overdue) release of these hostages, the timing here is curious...