Shafaq News – Baghdad (Updated at 15:11)

The United States chargé d’affaires in Baghdad, Joshua Harris, told Shafaq News that President Donald Trump personally ordered the release of all hostages “without conditions,” including Israeli-Russian researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov, who was freed earlier this month.

In an exclusive interview to be published in full later, Harris called it “a great honor” to meet Tsurkov after her ordeal. “Now she is with her family, exactly where she should be.”

Harris praised Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and security agencies for their role. “We very much appreciate the Prime Minister’s efforts to make Elizabeth’s release possible, to make it possible for her to return home to her family.”

He described Tsurkov’s 2023 abduction in Baghdad as “a crime and a violation of Iraqi law," stressing that Washington had been assured by Iraqi officials that her release involved “no money.”

The Iraqi government announced on September 9 that Tsurkov, described in its statement as “a Russian citizen,” had been handed to the US Embassy in Baghdad. She was kidnapped in March 2023 in the capital’s Karrada district. Seven months later, her captors released a video in which she spoke Hebrew, claimed links to Israel’s Mossad, and urged Israel to stop its war on Gaza.

Trump later wrote on his Truth Social platform that Kataib Hezbollah, an Iran-aligned group, had held Tsurkov, alleging she was tortured during captivity.

Prime Minister al-Sudani said the release was “the culmination of major efforts by Iraqi security agencies over many months,” pledging that no armed group would be allowed to undermine Iraq’s sovereignty.

Nearly two weeks later, Kataib Hezbollah issued its first detailed statement. Its security chief, Abu Ali al-Askari, claimed the release “spared Iraq a potential strike,” and alleged that Tsurkov had already provided all information in her possession, making her of “no security value.” He further accused her of working with “a team of agents” in Iraq to provoke intra-Shiite conflict and of having contacts with the “Tishreen” protest movement.

Responding to those claims, Harris told Shafaq News, “This crime never should have happened in the first place, and Iraq’s laws should be upheld in this regard.”