US dual citizen arrested in Iran

Published October 30, 2015

WASHINGTON: A US dual-citizen has been arrested in Iran, American media reported Thursday, becoming the fourth known Iranian-American to be jailed in the country.

Siamak Namazi, a Dubai-based businessman, was arrested earlier this month while visiting Tehran, according to The Washington Post, which cited an unnamed family friend.

"We're aware of recent reports of the possible arrest in Iran of a US citizen. We're looking into these reports and don't have anything further to provide at this time," a US senior administration official told AFP.

Three Americans, all of them of Iranian heritage, were already in jail in Iran including Jason Rezaian, a correspondent for The Washington Post who was arrested in July 2014 and accused of spying.

The others are Amir Hekmati, a former US Marine who was charged with spying, and Saeed Abedini, a convert to Christianity who gathered a Bible study group.

An unnamed American businessman was reported arrested by the IranWire website on October 15, and Namazi was afterwards named in tweets by Iranian-Americans, the Post said.

News of the arrest in American media came after US Secretary of State John Kerry met earlier in the day with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in Vienna, on the eve of key talks on ending the Syrian conflict.

Also read: Kerry urges Iran to release former US Marine from 'unjust detention'

Opinion

Editorial

Trump 2.0
Updated 07 Nov, 2024

Trump 2.0

It remains to be seen how his promises to bring ‘peace’ to Middle East reconcile with his blatantly pro-Israel bias.
Fait accompli
07 Nov, 2024

Fait accompli

A SLEW of secretively conceived and hastily enacted legislation has achieved its intended result: the powers of the...
IPP contracts
07 Nov, 2024

IPP contracts

THE government expects the ongoing ‘negotiations’ with power producers aimed at revising the terms of sovereign...
Rushed legislation
Updated 06 Nov, 2024

Rushed legislation

For all its stress on "supremacy of parliament", the ruling coalition has wasted no opportunity to reiterate where its allegiances truly lie.
Jail reform policy
06 Nov, 2024

Jail reform policy

THE state is making a fresh attempt to improve conditions in Pakistan’s penitentiaries by developing a national...
BISP overhaul
06 Nov, 2024

BISP overhaul

IT has emerged that the spouses of over 28,500 Sindh government employees have been illicitly benefiting from BISP....