 Representatives Chris Van Hollen, Tom Lantos, Elijah E. Cummings, Wayne T. Gilchrest, and Gary Ackerman introduced a resolution, H. RES.430, which called for the Esfandiari's release.On July 16, 2007, footage of Esfandiari appeared for the first time on a program entitled "In the Name of Democracy", aired on the Iranian state television channel IRIB.