A senior U.S. official said Saturday that, contrary to recent reports in Arab media, there has been no breakthrough in negotiations for the release of Elizabeth Tsurkov, an Israeli-Russian academic abducted in Iraq in March 2023.
The official emphasized that the United States has no intention of agreeing to the release of Mohammad Reza Nouri, a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), who has been implicated in the 2022 killing of American citizen Stephen Troell in Baghdad. Nouri's potential release has reportedly been raised as part of the talks.
Video of Israeli-Russian hosatge Elizabeth Tsurkov released by her captors
Although Tsurkov is not a U.S. citizen, the official noted that she is a doctoral student at Princeton University and that the United States is the only country actively working on her case.
Earlier Saturday, French news agency AFP reported that the deal to secure Tsurkov's release remained stalled as it awaits American approval to release Nouri, an officer in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) serving a life sentence along with four Iraqi accomplices for their roles in Troell's killing, which U.S. prosecutors say was carried out as retribution for the 2020 assassination of IRGC Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani in a U.S. drone strike at Baghdad airport.
In contrast, three sources, including one government official, told the London-based Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat that negotiations for Tsurkov’s release had reached their final stages, with only her release remaining. “The negotiations were long and very exhausting, but they ended with a deal that included the payment of a ransom,” one source said.
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Iraqi sources told the Saudi-owned Al Hadath news network on Saturday that “serious efforts” are underway to secure Tsurkov’s release. A separate report indicated that the deal for her release could be completed within 10 days.
An Israeli official confirmed that efforts to secure Tsurkov’s release are ongoing. “As part of its efforts on this matter, Israel has requested assistance from the United States and other countries,” the official said.
Tsurkov, 38, holds dual Israeli and Russian citizenship and had been living in the United States while pursuing a doctorate at Princeton University. She was kidnapped in Baghdad on March 26, 2023, while conducting field research.
There was no claim of responsibility for her abduction, but Israel accused Iraq's powerful Kataib Hezbollah of holding Tsurkov. The Iran-backed armed faction has implied it was not involved.
Her visit to Iraq was reportedly not her first, and she is believed to have entered the country using her Russian passport. Some Iraqi and diplomatic sources did not rule out the possibility that Tsurkov may have been transferred to Iran since her abduction.
Last week, Emma Tsurkov met with Adam Boehler, U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy for hostage affairs, in a renewed effort to achieve a breakthrough.
Boehler was previously criticized for direct contacts with Hamas but played a key role in securing the release of Israeli-American IDF soldier Edan Alexander from captivity in Gaza. A successful resolution in Tsurkov’s case would mark another achievement for him.