calculation

The release from prison of five Iranian Jews last week was due not to a change of heart by the regime in Tehran, but to a political calculation that Iran\’s international image needs burnishing, observers say. And clouding the relief of the Jews\’ relatives and advocates is concern that the men could be rearrested at any time or subjected to other forms of harassment, at the whim of the authorities.

At the same time, U.S.-based advocates for the Jews are reminding the community that another 11 Iranian Jewish men remain unaccounted for after disappearing while allegedly trying to cross Iran\’s border illegally in the early 1990s.