The United States has called on Iran to release American citizens it holds hostage, saying it is continuing to approach negotiations to secure the release of four Iranian-Americans. 

State Department principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said in a press briefing on Tuesday that the US “is seeking to secure the release of four wrongfully detained US citizens with the utmost urgency, and will continue to urge Iran to do the same.”

“Iran must allow Baquer (Bagher) and Siamak Namazi, Emad Sharghi (Shargi), and Morad Tahbaz to return home to their loved ones,” he said, declining to comment on Bagher’s medical issues over privacy concerns. 

Bagher Namazi, 85, and his son, Siamak, are both jailed by the Islamic Republic, while the elder is in need of surgery “within weeks,” his family said. According to a statement from Perseus Strategies, which represents the family, he already had health problems when he was detained in 2016, and has developed further medical issues during his six years of imprisonment. 

“According to multiple neurologists, Namazi must undergo surgery within weeks to clear life-threatening blockages in his left internal carotid artery,” the statement read, adding that “At the time of his arrest, Bagher was 79 years old and already suffering from numerous health conditions... The horrific prison conditions, denial of proper care, and overall trauma of the past six and a half years have been devastating for Bagher’s physical and mental health. He developed stress induced, adult-onset epilepsy, as well as severe depression.