In a private face-to-face meeting on Thursday, President Barack Obama assured Naghmeh Abedini, the wife of imprisoned pastor Saeed Abedini, that securing her husband's release remains a top priority for the administration.

The President met with Naghmeh and her two children in an office at Boise State University where he earlier gave a speech regarding higher education opportunities.

In the ten-minute meeting, Obama shared with the family that he recently spoke to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and mentioned that the release of Saeed was part of the conversation. As reported in a press release by the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), the President termed Saeed's release as a "top priority".

Naghmeh was thankful for the visit and described the President as focused and gracious during their brief meeting. She also praised the efforts of people throughout the world who continue to support the release of her imprisoned husband. "I know that this meeting could not have occurred without prayer and I am grateful to the many people around the country and world who continue to pray for Saeed's release. The President repeated his desire to do all that he can to bring Saeed home. That means the world to me and my children and has given me a renewed sense of hope," she said in a statement.

Saeed is an Iranian-American Christian pastor who has been imprisoned in Iran since early-2012. He was later charged with compromising national security by hosting private religious gatherings in Christian homes and attempting to sway Iran youths from Islam, as covered in a Fox News report. Saeed converted to Christianity from Muslim back in 2000 and would go on to establish over a hundred house churches in various Iranian cities.

Jordan Sekulow, an executive director at the ACLJ, praised the President's visit and called for a resolution to Saeed's situation. "Pastor Saeed has been wrongly imprisoned for nearly two and a half years," he said. "It is time to release Pastor Saeed so he can return home to his family."