U.S. says Iranian-American journalist held in Iran as tensions grow after Israeli attack on country

Iran detains Iranian-American journalist Reza Valizadeh, raising tensions with the U.S. and Israel, as Tehran threatens retaliation.

“An Iranian-American journalist who once worked for a U.S. government-funded broadcaster is believed to be detained by Iran for months now,” authorities said Sunday (November 3, 2024), further raising the stakes as Tehran threatens to retaliate over an Israeli attack on the country.

The imprisonment of Reza Valizadeh, acknowledged to The Associated Press by the U.S. State Department, came as Iran marked the 45th anniversary of the American Embassy takeover and hostage crisis on Sunday (November 3, 2024). It also followed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei threatening both Israel and the U.S. 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 U.S. Agency for Global Media. In February 2024, he wrote on the social platform X that his family members had been detained in an effort to see him return to Iran.

In August 2024, 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, even a verbal one.”

Valizadeh added the name of a man who he claimed belonged to Iran's Intelligence Ministry. The AP could not verify if the person worked for the Ministry.

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.