; Whereas according to Jason Rezaian, a former Washington Post Tehran correspondent who was unjustly imprisoned in Iran for 544 days, hostage-taking in recent years became a key tool of domestic influence for the Revolutionary Guard ; and Whereas Iranian media has reportedly quoted officials who have indicated that the Government of Iran is seeking additional payments or other concessions, including relief from economic sanctions, from the families of hostages and their governments as a condition of release, a practice banned by the 1979 International Convention Against the Taking of Hostages and other international legal norms: Now, therefore, be it