The news of the alleged imprisonment of Reza Valizadeh comes on the heels of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei threatening both Israel and the US with “a crushing response” to an Israeli attack on the country.

Valizadeh had worked for Radio Farda, an outlet under Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty which is overseen by the US Agency for Global Media.

In February, he posted on X that his family members had been detained in an effort to see him return to Iran. In a message in August he stated that he had returned to Iran despite Radio Farda being viewed as a hostile outlet by the Iranian authorities.

An excerpt from his message read, “I arrived in Tehran on March 6, 2024. Before that, I had unfinished negotiations with the (Revolutionary Guard’s) intelligence department…eventually I came back to my country after 13 years without any security guarantee, even a verbal one.”

There have been rumours for weeks that Valizadeh had been detained by the Iranian government. The Human Rights Activists News Agency, which monitors cases in Iran, stated that the journalist had been held once he arrived in the country but was released later.

The news agency also said that he was re-arrested and sent to Evin prison and would now undergo trial in Iran’s Revolutionary Court.

Valizadeh had previously faced arrest in Iran in 2007, the news agency reported. Iran has not yet confirmed detaining Valizadeh.

The US state department told AP that they were working with Swiss partners’ to gather more information on the case. They added,“Iran routinely imprisons US citizens and other countries’ citizens unjustly for political purposes. This practice is cruel and contrary to international law.”

Iran also marked the 45th anniversary of the American Embassy takeover and hostage crisis in the country on Sunday.

Since the 1979 US Embassy crisis, Iran has used prisoners as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the US, notably freeing five Americans in September, 2023 in exchange for five Iranians in US custody as well as $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets to be released by South Korea, reported AP

If Valizadeh is being held by Iran, he would be the first American known to be detained by the country since 2023.