Iranian-American businessman arrested and imprisoned in Tehran
An Iranian-American businessman based in Dubai was arrested earlier this month in Iran, making him the fourth American holding dual citizenship to be held in Tehran.
People briefed on the situation told The Wall Street Journal that two weeks ago, Siamak Namazi, the head of strategic planning at Crescent Petroleum Co., was arrested while visiting relatives in Tehran. The arrest was made by the Revolutionary Guard's intelligence service, which reports to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, not the Iranian government. Several businessmen interviewed from both inside and outside Iran told the Journal that in recent weeks, Iranian businessmen with ties to foreign companies have been detained, interrogated, and warned against getting involved in economic monopolies held by the Revolutionary Guard. Hardliners within the Iranian judiciary and intelligence services are also reportedly hoping to threaten the Iran nuclear deal by creating points of tension with the U.S.; they are against engaging with the West because they want to keep foreign influence out of the country.
Friends of Namazi's told the Journal that intelligence agents ransacked the home he was staying in, took his computer, and have launched cyberattacks against some of his email contacts. Namazi comes from a prominent Iranian family, and moved to the U.S. in 1983 when his father started working at the United Nations, The Washington Post reports. After college, he returned to Iran for compulsory military duty, and he wrote that he became a U.S. citizen in 1993 because it is easier to travel on a non-Iranian passport, and it helped him receive scholarships and grants for school. He wrote about Iran frequently, and published an op-ed in The New York Times in 2013, urging the West to relax sanctions so life-saving medicine could get into the country.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The U.S. State Department has been asking Iran, which does not recognize dual citizenship, to release three other Americans: Washington Post correspondent Jason Rezaian, who was recently convicted after an espionage trial; former Marine Amir Hekmati, accused of being a spy after traveling to Iran to visit his grandmother in 2011; and Saeed Abedini, a pastor convicted in 2013 of threatening Iran's national security by participating in home churches. All three deny the allegations.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Are 'judge shopping' rules a blow to Republicans?
Today's Big Question How the abortion pill case got to the Supreme Court
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Climate change is driving Indian women to choose sterilization
under the radar Faced with losing their jobs, they are making a life-altering decision
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
'A great culture will be lost if the EV brigade gets its way'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Visa and Mastercard agree to lower swipe fees
Speed Read The companies will cap the fees they charge businesses when customers use their credit cards
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Reddit IPO values social media site at $6.4 billion
Speed Read The company makes its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Housing costs: the root of US economic malaise?
speed read Many voters are troubled by the housing affordability crisis
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Feds cap credit card late fees at $8
speed read The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule to save households an estimated $10 billion a year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Immigration helped the US economy outpace peers
speed read The U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 3.2% last quarter
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
4-day workweek gets boost from UK study
Speed Read Following a six-month trial, the majority of participating British companies are still using the truncated schedule
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US sues to block Kroger-Albertsons merger
Speed Read The Federal Trade Commission sued to block the $24.6 billion merger between the grocery giants
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Nvidia sees historic stock rise on AI chips success
Speed Read U.S. chipmaker Nvidia achieved the biggest one-day increase in value of any company in history
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published