Who is Reza Valizadeh? Iranian-American journalist held in Tehran amid tensions with Israel, US- The Week

An Iranian-American journalist Reza Valizadeh has been detained by Iran amid the rising tensions between Tehran and Israel.

Recently, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei threatened both Israel and the United States with a “crushing response” over targeted attacks against its allies.

The imprisonment of Valizadeh came as Iran marked the 45th anniversary of the American Embassy takeover and hostage crisis on Sunday.

Valizadeh 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 see him return to Iran.

In August, Valizadeh posted two messages suggesting he had returned to Iran.

“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,” he wrote.

Valizadeh added the name of a man who he claimed belonged to Iran’s Intelligence Ministry.

Meanwhile, the Human Rights Activists News Agency, which monitors cases in Iran, said he was detained on arrival to Iran 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, which routinely holds closed-door hearings in which defendants face secret evidence, the agency reported.

Valizadeh had faced arrest in 2007 as well.

Since the 1979 US Embassy crisis, which saw dozens of hostages released after 444 days in captivity, Iran has used prisoners with Western ties as bargaining chips in negotiations with the world.

In recent times, Valizadeh is the first American known to be detained by Iran.