"Everyone thinks it's the other guy who is in the wrong. "

In this case, LH, the other guy IS wrong. The Iranians arrested 15 people with whom they are not at war. They refuse to return them to their country of origin. They are using those people as chips in a poker game. What other word works? Involuntary guests of the Iranian state? If that makes it sound better, OK. But it don't change the situation.