Siamak Namazi, imprisoned since 2015 by Iran, has begun a hunger strike

Siamak Namazi, shown in this photo before his 2015 imprisonment, has begun a one-week hunger strike in Iran to mark seven years since he was left out of a prisoner swap that occurred when the Iran nuclear deal went into effect. (Namazi Family)

On the seventh anniversary of his being left behind in a U.S.-Iran prison swap, an American jailed in Iran is beginning a week-long hunger strike on Monday. Siamak Namazi, an Iranian American businessman, is pushing Iran and the U.S. to make a deal to free him.

In a letter to President Biden released by his lawyer, Namazi, 51, says he has the "unenviable title of the longest held Iranian American hostage in history." He says his captors enjoy taunting him about that. He plans to be on a hunger strike for the next seven days.