US Says Iranian-American Held in Iran Amid High Tensions

Iran's national flag flies in the wind on the roof of the Consulate General of Iran in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany, on October 31, 2024. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)
Iran's national flag flies in the wind on the roof of the Consulate General of Iran in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany, on October 31, 2024. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)
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US Says Iranian-American Held in Iran Amid High Tensions

Iran's national flag flies in the wind on the roof of the Consulate General of Iran in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany, on October 31, 2024. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)
Iran's national flag flies in the wind on the roof of the Consulate General of Iran in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany, on October 31, 2024. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)

An Iranian-American journalist who once worked for a US government-funded broadcaster is believed to be detained by Iran for months now, authorities said Sunday, 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 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 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 the social platform X that his family members had been detained in an effort to see him 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, 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.
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, it said.
The State Department told the AP that 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 US citizens and other countries’ citizens unjustly for political purposes. This practice is cruel and contrary to international law.”
Iran has not acknowledged detaining Valizadeh. Iran's mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Voice of America, another US government-funded media outlet overseen by the Agency for Global Media, first reported the State Department was acknowledging Valizadeh's detention in Iran.
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 September 2023, five Americans detained for years in Iran were freed in exchange for five Iranians in US custody and for $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets to be released by South Korea.
Valizadeh is the first American known to be detained by Iran in the time since.



Federal Agencies Warn of Foreign Influence Campaigns Targeting US Voters

US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency logo.
US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency logo.
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Federal Agencies Warn of Foreign Influence Campaigns Targeting US Voters

US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency logo.
US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency logo.

The nation’s federal law enforcement and election security agencies are debunking two new examples of Russian election disinformation on the eve of Election Day, highlighting attempts by foreign actors to sow doubt in the US voting process and warning that the efforts run the risk of inciting violence against election officials.
In a joint statement late Monday, federal officials pointed to a recent article posted by Russian actors falsely claiming that US officials across presidential swing states were orchestrating a plan to commit fraud, as well as a video that falsely depicted an interview with an individual claiming election fraud in Arizona, The Associated Press said.
US intelligence reveals that Russia-linked influence actors “are manufacturing videos and creating fake articles to undermine the legitimacy of the election, instill fear in voters regarding the election process, and suggest Americans are using violence against each other due to political preferences,” read the statement issued by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the FBI and the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. “These efforts risk inciting violence, including against election officials.”
A spokesperson for the Russian Embassy did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Federal officials warned that Russia will likely release additional “manufactured content” on Election Day and poses “the most active threat” when it comes to foreign election influence. The statement also noted that Iran remains a “significant foreign influence threat to US elections."
The effort described by federal officials is part of a wide-ranging influence operation by Russia designed to undermine confidence in the electoral process and sow discord among American voters. Intelligence agencies have assessed that Russia, which also interfered on Donald Trump’s behalf in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, again prefers the Republican nominee and is likely to persist in its influence operations well after Election Day.
Besides manufactured videos intended to promote disinformation, US officials also have accused Russian state media of a covert, multimillion-dollar operation to spread pro-Russia content to American audiences and have seized dozens of internet domains they said fostered propaganda.
In their statement, officials also drew fresh attention to Iran’s attempts to interfere in the election, which include a hack-and-leak operation designed to harm Trump’s candidacy. The Justice Department in September charged three Iranian hackers in that effort.
Iranian actors also have created fake news sites and impersonated activists online in attempts to sway voters, according to analysts at Microsoft. The tech giant said last month that Iranian actors who allegedly sent emails aimed at intimidating US voters in 2020 have been surveying election-related websites and major media outlets, raising concerns they could be preparing for another scheme this year.
As large tech firms and intelligence officials have called out foreign interference this election cycle, Russia, China and Iran have rejected claims that they are seeking to meddle with the US election.
The Arizona video promoted on social media by Russian actors on Monday purported to show an anonymous whistleblower revealing an election fraud scheme. Federal officials said the Arizona Secretary of State’s office had already refuted the content of the video.
Earlier this week, US officials confirmed that a video claiming to show voter fraud in two left-leaning counties in Georgia was fake and the product of a Russian troll farm. And last month, they attributed to Russia another fake video of a person tearing up ballots in what appeared to be Bucks County, Pennsylvania.