In 1979, Barry Rosen — the press attaché at the U.S. embassy in Tehran — became one of 52 Americans held under brutal conditions for 444 days by militants under the rule of Iran’s revolutionary cleric and first Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. (The country’s second Supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in U.S.-Israel military strikes last week.)
On February 28, Rosen wrote on social media: “I survived the Iran hostage crisis and witnessed the birth of the Islamic Republic. I despise the regime for oppressing its people. But a U.S. war won’t free Iranians—it will kill them, empower hardliners, and spread chaos. True solidarity means supporting them, not bombing them.”
I survived the Iran hostage crisis and witnessed the birth of the Isamic Republic. I despise the regime for oppressing its people. But a U.S. war won't free Iranians—it will kill them, empower hardliners, and spread chaos. True solidarity means supporting them, not bombing…
— Barry Rosen (@brosen1501) February 28, 2026
Note: Rosen serves as a senior advisor for United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), an organization led by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is listed as one of the three members of UANI‘s Veterans Advisory Council.
On Sunday, Rosen also criticized the Trump administration for its immigration policies, especially as it deports people who likely face danger in their origin countries.
He wrote: “From my own life experience as a hostage in Iran for 444 days, I know how fragile safety can be–and how precious our rights are, especially now that we are plunged into war with Iran. I am outraged that a woman, one who I know, who has lived her entire life in the United States–adopted as a toddler by an American military family in Iran—now faces deportation to Iran, of all countries, because of a bureaucratic visa technicality.
“She has no criminal record, has lived in in California communities, paid taxes, more than contributed to the fabric of this nation, and calls this country her home. Yet, the Department of Homeland Security says she must removed because she technically ‘overstayed’ a visa from the age of 4.”
From my own life experience as a hostage in Iran for 444 days, I know how fragile safety can be–and how precious our rights are, especially now that we are plunged into war with Iran.
— Barry Rosen (@brosen1501) March 9, 2026
I am outraged that a woman, one who I know, who has
lived her entire life in the United…
Rosen added: “This is beyond unjust–it is cruel. She does not even remember Iran, a country she left as a child, and where as a Christian she could be persecuted, imprisoned, or worse under Iranian law that treats apostasy as crime punishable by severe penalties and even death.
“How can we call ourselves a nation of justice and compassion when we tear apart someone who is, in very sense an American? This isn’t immigration enforcement–it is punishment of an innocent woman who belongs here. If we allow this to happen, we are not enforcing the law–we are abandoning our humanity. Where is the outrage? Where is the national coverage? If we allow this to happen, we are abandoning the very values we claim to stand for.”
