A 29-year-old former U.S. Marine who has been jailed in Iran since 2011 and accused of being a CIA spy says in a letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that his confession was made under duress . `` For over 2 years I have been held on false charges based solely on confessions obtained by force , threats , miserable prison conditions , and prolonged periods of solitary confinement , '' Amir Hekmati says in the letter , which was obtained and published by the Guardian and whose authenticity the family vouched for to CNN . `` This is part of a propaganda and hostage taking effort by Iranian intelligence to secure the release of Iranians abroad being held on security-related charges . '' Hekmati adds that Iranian intelligence told his court-appointed lawyer that he could be released in exchange for two Iranians being held abroad . `` I had nothing to do with their arrest , committed no crime , and see no reason why the U.S. Government should entertain such a ridiculous proposition , '' writes Hekmati , who has dual U.S.-Iranian citizenship . `` I do not wish to set a precedent for others that may be unlawfully ( obtained ) for political gain in the future . While my family and I have suffered greatly I will accept nothing but my unconditional release . '' Father fears he may never see his son imprisoned in Iran . Though Hekmati has been able to send and receive letters , it was not clear how this letter -- dated September 1 -- was sent . The newspaper reported Wednesday that the letter had been smuggled out . Born in Arizona and raised in Nebraska before settling with his family in Flint , Michigan , Hekmati joined the Marines in 2001 out of high school . He finished his service four years later as a decorated combat veteran with tours in Iraq . Afterward , he translated Arabic as a contractor and helped train troops in cultural sensitivity . Hekmati 's family said he had gone to Iran to visit his grandmother but was arrested in August 2011 , accused by Iran 's Intelligence Ministry of working as a CIA agent . In December 2011 , Hekmati appeared on Iranian state television maintaining that he had been sent to Iran by the CIA . Family pleads for his release . At trial , whose proceedings were not public , prosecutors accused him of trying to infiltrate Iran 's intelligence system in order to accuse Iran of involvement in terrorist activities , according to the semi-official Fars news agency . In January 2012 , he was convicted and sentenced to death . Two months later , an Iranian court dismissed the lower court 's death sentence and ordered a retrial . In Washington , spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki said the State Department had received a copy of the letter from Hekmati 's family . But , she added , `` We have not had any communication with Iran on the issue of a prisoner exchange . '' In a statement issued last month , Kerry said the espionage charges were false and urged the Tehran government to release him `` safely and as soon as possible . '' Hekmati 's mother has visited her son in Tehran 's Evin Prison ; she says his father has terminal cancer . Diplomatic relations between Washington and Tehran have been broken since 1980 , during the hostage crisis that followed the 1979 Islamic revolution . Iran claims it hanged CIA , Mossad spies .
Amir Hekmati cites `` force , threats , miserable prison conditions '' He says Tehran wants to exchange him for other prisoners . The US has been negotiating with Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution in an effort to secure his release.