According to reports, authorities have announced that an Iranian-American journalist working for a US-owned broadcaster is believed to have been detained by Iran for several months.
A State Department official confirmed to The Associated Press that Reza Valizadeh is imprisoned by the Iranian regime. Mr. Valizadeh works for Radio Farda, the Iranian branch of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which broadcasts in Farsi from the Czech Republic and provides listeners with “fact-based, objective and professional information.” We provide “quality journalism.” Iran’s theocracy considers Radio Farda a hostile station.
Valizadeh’s detention comes as Iran celebrates the 45th anniversary of the U.S. embassy takeover and hostage crisis on Sunday. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei also called for an “overwhelming response” from both the U.S. and Israel after U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered the dispatch of additional B-52 bombers and naval warships to the Middle East amid rising tensions. ” is threatening.
Valizadeh posted on X in February that her family was being held in Iran and that she was being pressured to persuade them to return.
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Holding up a poster of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at an annual rally in front of the former U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran, to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the embassy takeover by Iranian students, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. students. A hostage situation begins. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Valizadeh reportedly posted two messages in August suggesting he returned to Iran with no guarantees of safety.
“I arrived in Tehran on March 6, 2024. Before that, there were unfinished negotiations with the intelligence department (of the Revolutionary Guards),” the message read in part, according to the Associated Press. It is said that “In the end, I returned to my home country for the first time in 13 years without any guarantees of safety, even verbal ones.”
Valizadeh included a cryptic message naming a man who claimed to work for Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence. The Associated Press could not confirm whether the person works for the department.
The Human Rights Defenders News Agency, which monitors events in Iran, reported earlier this month that Valizadeh had been arrested and transferred to Evin Prison. The report said he has been denied legal representation and the charges against him remain unclear.
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A schoolgirl holds a poster of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and a statue of Uncle Sam during an annual gathering in front of the former U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. Sunday, November 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
“We are aware of reports that this dual U.S.-Iranian citizen has been arrested in Iran,” the State Department told The Associated Press in response to a question about rumors that Valizadeh had been detained.
“We are working with our Swiss partners, who serve as a protective force for the United States in Iran, to gather further information regarding this incident,” the State Department said. “Iran routinely unjustly imprisons U.S. citizens and nationals of other countries for political purposes. This practice is cruel and violates international law.”
Iranian authorities have not acknowledged Walizadeh’s detention.
Since the 1979 U.S. embassy crisis, in which dozens of hostages were freed after 444 days in captivity, Iran has used Western-linked prisoners of war as bargaining chips with the world. In September 2023, five Americans held in Iran for many years were released in exchange for five Iranians held by the United States and $6 billion in Iranian assets frozen by South Korea.
Valizadeh is the first American known to have been detained in Iran since then.
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Iranian demonstrators burn a representation of the Israeli flag during an annual rally in front of the former US Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, November 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Iran marked the anniversary of the embassy takeover on Sunday, with thousands of demonstrators shouting “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” in front of the former U.S. Embassy. Some burned U.S. and Israeli flags, the Associated Press reported.
They also featured images of slain top figures from Iran-backed terrorist groups, including Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Palestinian Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. Crowds at state-sponsored rallies shouted their readiness to defend Palestinians.
Iranian demonstrators burn a representation of the U.S. flag during an annual rally in front of the former U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
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General Hossein Salami, head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, spoke in Tehran and reiterated Khamenei’s pledge to respond to the US military presence in the Middle East and the escalating involvement of Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“The resistance front and Iran will equip themselves with whatever it takes to confront and defeat the enemy,” Salami said, according to the Associated Press.
Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr and Liz Friden and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
