As Tehran vows to respond over an Israeli strike on the nation, officials claimed Sunday that an Iranian-American journalist who formerly worked for a U.S. government-funded station is thought to have been jailed by Iran for months.
As Iran commemorated the 45th anniversary of the American Embassy seizure and hostage crisis on Sunday, the U.S. State Department confirmed to The Associated Press that Reza Valizadeh had been imprisoned.
Additionally, when long-range B-52 bombers arrived in the Middle East the previous day in an effort to discourage Tehran, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei threatened Israel and the United States with “a crushing response.”
Previously, Valizadeh was employed by Radio Farda, a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty channel regulated by the U.S. Agency for Global Media. His family members had been arrested in an attempt to get him to return to Iran, he posted on the social media site X in February.
Despite Radio Farda being seen as a hostile station by Iran’s theocracy, Valizadeh reportedly broadcast two messages in August implying he had returned to Iran.
On March 6, 2024, I reached Tehran. The message partially stated, “Prior to that, I had incomplete discussions with the (Revolutionary Guard’s) intelligence department.” “After 13 years, I finally returned to my country with no assurance of security, not even a verbal one.”
Valizadeh went on to mention an individual he said was affiliated with Iran’s Intelligence Ministry. The AP was unable to confirm whether the individual was employed by the government.
For weeks, there had been rumors that Valizadeh had been arrested. He was arrested when he arrived in Iran early this year but was eventually freed, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, which keeps track of cases there.
After that, he was caught again and sent to Evin prison, where he is currently facing charges before Iran’s Revolutionary Court, which frequently performs sessions behind closed doors when prisoners are presented with secret evidence, according to the agency. It stated that Valizadeh had also been arrested in 2007.
When questioned about Valizadeh, the State Department informed the AP that it was “aware of reports that this dual U.S.-Iranian citizen has been arrested in Iran.”
“To obtain additional information regarding this case, we are collaborating with our Swiss partners who act as the United States’ protecting power in Iran,” the State Department stated. Iran frequently unfairly imprisons citizens of the United States and other nations for political reasons. This practice violates international law and is inhumane.
Iran has not confirmed arresting Valizadeh. A request for response from Iran’s delegation to the UN was not immediately answered.
The State Department’s recognition of Valizadeh’s imprisonment in Iran was initially reported by The Voice of America, another government-funded media organization under the Agency for Global Media’s supervision.
Iran has utilized inmates with Western connections as negotiating chips in talks with the international community ever since the 1979 U.S. Embassy crisis, in which scores of hostages were freed after 444 days in captivity. In September 2023, South Korea agreed to release $6 billion in blocked Iranian assets in return for the release of five Iranians in U.S. custody and the release of five Americans who had been imprisoned in Iran for years.
Since then, Valizadeh has become the first American known to be imprisoned by Iran.
In the meantime, video of several Iranian towns commemorating the anniversary of the embassy seizure was shown on Iranian official television on Sunday.
In Tehran, Guard chief Gen. Hossein Salami also addressed, restating a promise Khamenei had made the previous day.
In reference to Tehran-backed terrorist organizations like Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, he declared, “The resistance front and Iran will equip itself with whatever necessary to confront and defeat the enemy.”
Thousands of people in Tehran yelled “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” at the entrance of the former American embassy. Some set fire to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s effigy and national flags.
They also included pictures of prominent members of Iran’s affiliated militant organizations who had been slain, such as Yahya Sinwar of Palestinian Hamas and Hassan Nasrallah of Lebanese Hezbollah. At the state-sponsored demonstrations, the audience yelled that they were prepared to protect the Palestinians.
