World

U.S. Citizen Reporting For Washington Post Detained In Iran

Jason Rezaian and several other U.S. citizens were detained Tuesday in Tehran, and it's not yet clear who took them or why.

U.S. Citizen Reporting For Washington Post Detained In Iran
The Washington Post / Zoeann Murphy
SMS

The Washington Post says one of its reporters, an American citizen based in Tehran, has been detained by Iranian authorities along with several other Americans.

The Post says Jason Rezaian, a reporter with dual U.S.-Iranian citizenship, was detained Tuesday along with his wife and two American photojournalists. It's still not clear who detained them or why.

Rezaian has worked for the paper since 2012, covering stories like the election of Hassan Rouhani in last year's presidential race. He was last active on Twitter Monday when he retweeted a story about the Iranian people's newfound love of baseball. (Via The Washington Post, Twitter / @jrezaian)

Rezaian has also written for the San Francisco Chronicle and Middle East newspaper The National.

Neither the State Department nor an Iranian U.N. spokesperson were able to confirm the story or shed any light on why Rezaian would have been detained, but journalism organizations have already issued calls for his immediate release.

A spokesperson for the Committee to Protect Journalists said: "Iran has a dismal record with regard to its treatment of imprisoned journalists. We hold the Iranian government responsible for the safety of these four."

Iran has consistently been rated one of the worst countries in the world when it comes to press freedom, especially since a massive protest movement sprang up around the country's 2009 presidential election which was then followed by a crackdown. (Via Reporters Without Borders, Getty Images)

Another American journalist, Roxana Saberi, was detained in Iran that same year and was held for 101 days on charges of acting as a spy. A Reporters Without Borders spokesperson told Fox News the situation hasn't improved much since then. (Via Getty Images)

"The situation in Iran is extremely difficult for journalists. Just to give you one awful number, there are actually right now 64 journalists or bloggers in jail in Iran."

Reporters who know Rezaian have joined the chorus calling for his release. His family has declined to comment.