US demands release of alleged Mossad agent, threatens Iraq with political, economic ‘consequences’ – The Cradle
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The US has warned Iraq’s premier that there will be consequences unless he ensures the release of kidnapped Russian-Israeli academic Elizabeth Tsurkov, the Qatari newspaper Al-Araby al-Jadeed reported on 10 March.
Citing two Iraqi officials, the Qatari daily said that US President Donald Trump threatened “political and economic consequences” if they did not resolve the issue.
Trump’s hostage envoy, Adam Boehler, has sent direct messages to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and “threatened a package of US punitive measures against Iraq, political and economic, if Tsurkov’s detention continued, and considered that the Iraqi government is responsible for returning her as soon as possible,” one official said.
Iraq’s national security advisor stated last week that authorities were actively searching for Tsurkov, who was abducted in March 2023 in Baghdad.
Tsurkov is a doctoral student at Princeton University and a former Israeli military intelligence analyst with alleged links to Mossad. While reporting on the war in Syria that started in 2011, the Israeli researcher enjoyed close ties to commanders and fighters from the Nusra Front – the Syrian wing of Al-Qaeda.
