DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — An Iranian-American journalist who worked for a U.S. government-funded television station is believed to have been detained by Iran for months now, authorities said Sunday, further raising the stakes as Tehran threatens to respond to an Israeli attack. on the country.

The imprisonment of Reza Valizadeh, acknowledged by the Associated Press by the U.S. State Department, comes as Iran marks the 45th anniversary of the U.S. embassy takeover and hostage crisis on Sunday. It also follows threats from Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei of a “crushing response” the day before to both Israel and the United States, as long-range B-52 bombers reached the Middle -East to try to deter Tehran.

Valizadeh had worked for Radio Farda, a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty channel overseen by the US Agency for Global Media. In February, he wrote on the social platform X that members of his family had been arrested in an attempt to see him return to Iran.

In August, Valizadeh apparently posted two messages suggesting he had returned to Iran, although Radio Farda is considered a hostile channel by Iran’s theocracy.

“I arrived in Tehran on March 6, 2024. Before that, I had unfinished negotiations with the intelligence department (of the Revolutionary Guards),” the message read in part. “Finally, I returned to my country after 13 years without any guarantee of security, even verbal. »

Valizadeh added the name of a man he said was from Iran’s intelligence ministry. The AP could not verify whether the person worked for the department.

Rumors have been circulating for weeks that Valizadeh had been arrested. The Human Rights Activists news agency, which tracks cases in Iran, said he was arrested upon arrival in the country earlier this year but later released.

He was then arrested again and sent to Evin Prison, where he now faces a case before Iran’s Revolutionary Court, which regularly holds closed-door hearings in which defendants are confronted with secret evidence, the agency reported. Valizadeh was also arrested in 2007, according to the press release.

The State Department told the AP it was “aware of reports that this dual U.S.-Iranian citizen had been arrested in Iran” when asked about Valizadeh.

“We are working with our Swiss partners who serve as the United States’ protective power in Iran to gather more information on this matter,” the State Department said. “Iran routinely imprisons citizens of the United States and other countries unjustly for political purposes. This practice is cruel and contrary to international law.

Iran has not recognized Valizadeh’s detention. The Iranian 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 that the State Department acknowledged Valizadeh’s detention in Iran.

Since the 1979 US embassy crisis, which saw dozens of hostages freed after 444 days in captivity, Iran has used prisoners with ties to the West as bargaining chips in its negotiations with the world. In September 2023, five Americans detained for years in Iran were released in exchange for five Iranians held by the United States and $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets to be released by South Korea.

Valizadeh has since become the first American detained by Iran.

Meanwhile, Iranian state television on Sunday broadcast images from different cities across the country marking the anniversary of the embassy takeover.

General Hossein Salami, head of the Guard, also spoke in Tehran, where he reiterated a commitment made the day before by Khamenei.

“The resistance front and Iran will equip themselves with everything necessary to confront and defeat the enemy,” he said, referring to militant groups like Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah backed by Tehran.

In Tehran, thousands of people at the entrance to the former American embassy chanted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel”. Some burned country flags and effigies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

They also released images of slain figures from Iran-allied militant groups, including Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Palestinian Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. Crowds at state-organized rallies chanted that they were ready to defend the Palestinians.

Copyright 2024 NPR