US looking into reported detention of American-Iranian citizen in Iran

Rights groups say journalist Reza Valizadeh has been detained, amid heightened tensions between the United States and Iran.

An American-Iranian journalist who once worked for a US-funded broadcaster is believed to have been detained in Iran, according to his former employer and multiple press freedom groups. Reza Valizadeh was arrested in Tehran in September, a source close to his family told his former employer Radio Farda, the Iranian branch of the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). Iran has not acknowledged detaining Valizadeh and the Iranian mission to the United Nations has declined to comment on his situation. In response to CNN’s request for comment about Valizadeh, the US State Department said Monday only that it was “aware of reports that a dual US-Iranian citizen has been arrested in Iran.” The US State Department spokesperson told CNN that it is working with Switzerland, which represents the US in Iran, to gather more information on the case. RFE/RL says it has had no official confirmation of the charges facing Valizadeh, who left Radio Farda in November 2022, but it is “profoundly concerned about the continued arrest, harassment and threats against media professionals by the Iranian regime.”