Iran arrests father of jailed U.S. citizen: family
By Yeganeh Torbati1 hour ago
Iranian-American consultant Siamak Namazi is pictured in this photo taken in San Francisco, California …
By Yeganeh Torbati
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iranian authorities this week arrested the elderly father of an American jailed in Iran since October, the man's family said on Wednesday.
Siamak Namazi, a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen, was detained by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in October while in Iran visiting family. Officials have yet to announce charges against him.
Baquer Namazi, Siamak's father, was arrested late on Monday in Tehran, his wife Effie Namazi said in a Facebook post on Wednesday. The 80-year-old Namazi, also a dual Iranian-American citizen, was taken to Evin Prison, where his son is also being held, she said.
"Now both my innocent son Siamak and my Baquer are in prison for no reason. This is a nightmare I can't describe," Effie Namazi wrote in her post. "I am extremely concerned and worried sick for Baquer's health."
Baquer Namazi has a serious heart and other conditions which require special medication, she said.
A former Iranian provincial governor and UNICEF official, Baquer Namazi was more recently running Hamyaran, an umbrella agency for Iranian nongovernmental organizations. His son Siamak was most recently working for Crescent Petroleum in the United Arab Emirates, and previously headed a consulting business in Iran.
Sam Werberg, press officer for the U.S. State Department's Office of Iranian Affairs, said it was aware of reports that a U.S. citizen had been detained in Iran, but could not comment further because of privacy considerations.
"The U.S. Department of State has no higher priority than the protection of U.S. citizens overseas," Werberg said. "We take our obligation to assist U.S. citizens abroad seriously."
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