Congress Continues to Lead in Fight to Free American Pastor Saeed Abedini

In light of the dire situation Pastor Saeed now faces having been transferred to a deadly new prison where he is being withheld critical medicine, Members of Congress are redoubling their efforts to bring this persecuted pastor home.

Senator Roy Blunt (MO) recently called the White House to urge President Obama to directly re-engage in the fight to free Pastor Saeed, a U.S. citizen.

After the phone call, he posted the following on his Facebook and Twitter pages:

Called WH officials to stress the need for urgent action for #PastorSaeed. Obama admin must continue efforts to secure his release from Iran

— Senator Roy Blunt (@RoyBlunt) November 14, 2013

In addition, congressional resolutions in both the House and Senate continue to make significant steps forward.

Yesterday, a resolution for Pastor Saeed in the House of Representatives passed a key committee hurdle. H. Res. 147, a bipartisan resolution sponsored by Representative Bill Cassidy (LA-6) and cosponsored by 78 members of both political parties, was approved by the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Middle East and North Africa. The resolution calls on Iran to immediately release Pastor Saeed.

In the Senate, 23 Senators have sent President Obama a bipartisan letter urging him to directly engage diplomatically for Pastor Saeed’s release. The bipartisan Senate resolution also continues to proceed in the Senate. We are hopeful that it too will clear key procedural hurdles in a timely fashion.

It is vitally important that both of these bipartisan resolutions quickly be passed by the House and Senate. Pastor Saeed is facing deadly conditions on a daily basis. Time is of the essence to use every avenue to place increased pressure on the Iranian regime to release Pastor Saeed.

Over 225,000 Americans have signed a petition urging President to Obama to re-engage for Pastor Saeed. Join them. Sign the petition to immediately engage for Pastor Saeed today.