Washington D.C. – RFERL, October 15, 2024
A former journalist for RFE/RL who returned to Iran after many years abroad has been arrested in Tehran, a source told RFE/RL on October 15.
Reza Valizadeh, a dual Iranian-U.S. national, was arrested about three weeks ago and is facing charges, including cooperation with Farsi-language media abroad, one of his relatives told RFE/RL.
Iranian officials have not yet commented on Valizadeh’s arrest.
Valizadeh left his job as a staff member at RFE/RL’s Radio Farda in November 2022 and stayed abroad for some time.
In his last post on X on August 13, Valizadeh said he had traveled to Tehran on March 16.
The post says that he had “half-finished” negotiations with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ intelligence organization, but in the end he returned to Iran after 14 years on his own responsibility and “without a letter of trust, even verbally.”
