US reportedly warns Iraq of consequences if it doesn’t ensure kidnapped Israeli freed
Trump envoy Adam Boehler tells Iraqi PM there will be political, economic repercussions if academic Elizabeth Tsurkov remains captive, Qatari paper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reports
Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
The US has warned Iraq’s prime minister 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 Monday, citing two Iraqi officials.
The Trump administration threatened “political and economic consequences” if they did not resolve the issue, said the Qatari newspaper.
Iraq’s national security adviser said last week that authorities were actively searching for Tsurkov, a doctoral student at Princeton University and fellow at the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy who is believed to have been held by Islamist terrorists since March 2023.
Israeli authorities have blamed the Iran-backed Iraqi terror group Kataeb Hezbollah, though no group has claimed responsibility for her disappearance.
The two Iraqi officials told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the government is enlisting the help of Shiite political leaders to secure Tsurkov’s release.
US President Donald Trump’s hostage envoy Adam Boehler has sent direct messages to Iraqi premier 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.
“Washington is now the negotiator for Tsurkov’s release, not Israel,” said the other official, who sits on Iraq’s National Security Council. Iraq, the official said, sees the situation as “very embarrassing, due to the lack of response from any armed group to the crisis.”
Iraq “has been making real and important efforts in this case for months,” insisted the official, “but the kidnappers are not responding in any way, and their goal is not the financial ransom, which makes the case difficult.”
The officials spoke to the Qatari paper a day after US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz told Sudani that the White House had let a waiver allowing Iraq to pay Iran for electricity lapse in order to maintain pressure on Tehran relating to its nuclear program. Iran supplies a third of Iraq’s gas and electricity, providing Tehran with substantial income.
Tsurkov, who had likely entered Iraq on her Russian passport, had traveled to the country as part of her doctoral studies after previously traveling to the country and other Arab countries in the region.
In November 2023, Iraqi channel Al Rabiaa TV aired the first hostage video of Tsurkov known to the public since her kidnapping.
In the video, Tsurkov mentioned the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which raged after the Palestinian terror group launched its October 7, 2023, onslaught.
Agencies and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
