The arrest Feb. 22 of former senior UN official Baquer Namazi, 80, who holds dual Iranian-American citizenship, defies any sort of logic. Baquer is the father of Siamak Namazi, who was unfortunately arrested in October after a period of intense interrogations by the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Tehran. More than four months have passed and there is still no clear information about why Siamak was arrested and what he is accused of. The original arrest and now the incarceration of Siamak’s father clash with basic human rights, core Islamic values and the overall direction that the Islamic Republic of Iran adopted when it decided to move away from its past escalatory policies in the nuclear negotiations and adopt a conciliatory approach — one that led to the historic nuclear agreement in July and to the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in January. This agreement has been hailed as a win-win solution out of the decadelong nuclear impasse.

Nonetheless, some forces in Iran, seemingly closely affiliated with the hard-line faction, may view the deal itself and the expected relaxation in Iran’s external relations as a threat to their interests and beliefs. This is the only logic that can explain the decisions that led to the arrest of Siamak and Baquer, who have done nothing but to promote better relations between Iran and the world. In the case of Siamak, his transparent track record has been well covered and captured by the online media, and in the case of Baquer — a former senior UNICEF official and civil society representative — he has been praised for his work in poverty eradication, children’s education and the protection provided in times of war and overall social development of those in countries such as Somalia, Kenya, Egypt and Thailand.

Considering the above, and the premise that those who decided to arrest Siamak and then to escalate the case by arresting Baquer are rational actors, the central question is what their motives may be.

There could be three possible explanations. First, there is the anxiety over the return of the Iranian diaspora in the post-sanctions era. Baquer and Siamak were both among the Iranian diaspora that returned to Iran in the late 1990s, in the aftermath of the election of Reformist President Mohammad Khatami (1997-2005), who promoted greater engagement with Iranians abroad. Baquer dedicated his energy to the development of the country’s civil society, and did considerable work for the victims of the 2003 Bam earthquake. Siamak joined a consulting group that helped international investors understand the Iranian market prior to investment decisions. It is possible that these arrests are linked to the desire of some hard-line elements to discourage Iranians abroad from returning. One could conclude that such elements would be concerned about a growing presence of returning Iranians, and especially Iranian-Americans, who would obviously have an influence over how Iranian society will develop in the next decade or so.