US Confirms Iran Is Holding an Iranian-American Journalist

Reza Valizadeh once worked for a US government-funded broadcaster
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Nov 3, 2024 7:31 AM CST
US Says Iran Is Holding an Iranian-American Journalist
Holding a poster of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, students attend an annual rally in front of the former US Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, marking the 45th anniversary of Iranian students' takeover of the embassy, starting a hostage crisis.   (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

An Iranian-American journalist who once worked for a US government-funded broadcaster is believed to have been detained by Iran for months now, US authorities confirmed Sunday, further raising the stakes as Tehran threatens to retaliate over an Israeli attack. The imprisonment of Reza Valizadeh, acknowledged to the AP by the US State Department, came as Iran marked the 45th anniversary of the American Embassy takeover and hostage crisis on Sunday. It also followed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei threatening both Israel and the US the day before with "a crushing response" as long-range B-52 bombers reached the Middle East in an attempt to deter Tehran.

Valizadeh had worked for Radio Farda, an outlet under Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that's overseen by the US Agency for Global Media. In February, he wrote on X that his family members had been detained in an effort to force his return to Iran. In August, Valizadeh apparently posted two messages suggesting he had returned to Iran despite Radio Farda being viewed by Iran's theocracy as a hostile outlet. "I arrived in Tehran on March 6, 2024. Before that, I had unfinished negotiations with the (Revolutionary Guard's) intelligence department," the message read in part. "Eventually I came back to my country after 13 years without any security guarantee."

Rumors have been circulating for weeks that Valizadeh had been detained. The Human Rights Activists News Agency, which monitors cases in Iran, said that he had been detained on arrival to the country earlier this year, but later released. He was then rearrested and sent to Evin prison, where he now faces a case in Iran's Revolutionary Court. The State Department said it was "aware of reports that this dual US-Iranian citizen has been arrested in Iran" when asked about Valizadeh. "We are working with our Swiss partners who serve as the protecting power for the United States in Iran to gather more information about this case," the State Department said. "Iran routinely imprisons U.S. citizens and other countries' citizens unjustly for political purposes." Meanwhile, thousands at the gate of the former US Embassy in Tehran chanted "death to America" and "death to Israel."

(More Iran stories.)

US Says Iran Is Holding an Iranian-American Journalist
An Iranian demonstrator holds up a poster of the slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah at the annual rally in front of the former US Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, marking the 45th anniversary of Iranian students' takeover of the embassy, starting a hostage crisis.   (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
US Says Iran Is Holding an Iranian-American Journalist
Women walk on an image of the Israeli flag put on the street in an annual rally in front of the former US Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, marking the 45th anniversary of Iranian students' takeover of the embassy, starting a hostage crisis.   (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
US Says Iran Is Holding an Iranian-American Journalist
Demonstrators wave Iranian and Palestinian flags in an annual rally in front of the former US Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, marking the 45th anniversary of Iranian students' takeover of the embassy, starting a hostage crisis.   (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
US Says Iran Is Holding an Iranian-American Journalist
Iranian demonstrators burn a representation of the US flag in an annual rally in front of the former US Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, marking the 45th anniversary of Iranian students' takeover of the embassy, starting a hostage crisis.   (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
US Says Iran Is Holding an Iranian-American Journalist
An Iranian schoolgirl holds up her hand with a sign reading in Farsi: "Lebanon's Hezbollah" in an annual rally in front of the former US Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, marking the 45th anniversary of Iranian students' takeover of the embassy, starting a hostage crisis.   (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
US Says Iran Is Holding an Iranian-American Journalist
Iranian demonstrators burn a representation of the Israeli flag in an annual rally in front of the former US Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, marking the 45th anniversary of Iranian students' takeover of the embassy, starting a hostage crisis.   (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
US Says Iran Is Holding an Iranian-American Journalist
Iranian demonstrators hold up posters of the late Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in 2020, and the late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in September, during a rally in front of the former US Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024.   (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
US Says Iran Is Holding an Iranian-American Journalist
An Iranian woman sits as she attends an annual rally in front of the former US Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, marking the 45th anniversary of Iranian students' takeover of the embassy, starting a hostage crisis.   (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
US Says Iran Is Holding an Iranian-American Journalist
Iranians attend an annual rally in front of the former US Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, marking the 45th anniversary of Iranian students' takeover of the embassy, starting a hostage crisis.   (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
US Says Iran Is Holding an Iranian-American Journalist
A woman shows her hand painted with the Palestinian flag in an annual rally in front of the former US Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, marking the 45th anniversary of Iranian students' takeover of the embassy, starting a hostage crisis.   (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
US Says Iran Is Holding an Iranian-American Journalist
An Iranian schoolgirl holds an anti-Israeli placard during an annual rally in front of the former US Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, marking the 45th anniversary of Iranian students' takeover of the embassy, starting a hostage crisis.   (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
US Says Iran Is Holding an Iranian-American Journalist
An Iranian demonstrator holds a poster of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and a Palestinian flag in an annual rally in front of the former US Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, marking the 45th anniversary of Iranian students' takeover of the embassy, starting a hostage crisis.   (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
US Says Iran Is Holding an Iranian-American Journalist
Holding posters of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Lebanon's Hezbollah flag, demonstrators chant slogans in an annual rally in front of the former US Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, marking the 45th anniversary of the takeover of the embassy.   (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
US Says Iran Is Holding an Iranian-American Journalist
A schoolgirl holds an effigy of the Uncle Sam as another one holds a poster of the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in an annual rally in front of the former US Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, marking the 45th anniversary of the takeover of the embassy.   (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)