New York — Families and supporters of Americans detained in Iran say their loved ones face new risks during their detention Intensification of warincluding the risk of becoming unintended victims of Israeli and American bombing or victims of retaliation by the repressive Iranian regime.
“For Americans imprisoned in Iran, this is as terrifying a moment as it gets,” he said. Siamak Namazi, An Iranian American who was detained for nearly eight years before being released as part of Dealing with the United States In 2023. “What these families are facing now are days of war with no clear end in sight.”
The US government has not confirmed how many Americans are being held in Iran, but the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, a hostage advocacy organization, said there are six people and they face “unprecedented risk” due to the military conflict.
Known cases include a reporter formerly based in Washington and an Iranian-Jewish American from New York who traveled to Iran last year for family reasons and was not allowed to return to the United States.
There are at least two known detainees in Evin Prison, the notorious Tehran prison where Namazi has been held, according to individual representatives. the High security facility It holds many political prisoners in the Islamic Republic and has been the target of Israeli bombing in the past.
Kamran Hekmati, a 61-year-old from Long Island who is detained in Evin, spoke to his wife on Monday, a few days after the war, to assure her that he was safe for now, according to Shohra Nofar, his cousin.
She added that the family feared his condition would deteriorate rapidly because he had not received regular treatment for bladder cancer in the months following his arrest.
“It’s an uncertain time in an uncertain country,” said Novar, a Los Angeles resident.
Ryan Vaehey, an attorney for Reza Valizadeh, an Iranian-American correspondent also detained in Evin, said he stressed the urgency of the moment in his regular conversations with White House and State Department officials.
The Israeli army has taken to social media in recent days to warn residents living near the prison of the need to evacuate the prison amid ongoing air strikes. Families of other foreign nationals imprisoned in Evin told European media that bombs struck close enough to the detention center to blow out windows.
Al-Faihi said: “It is my job to inform the administration and the Israeli government that there are innocent American citizens inside that prison.” He added: “They must be very careful in this military action to avoid any unfortunate collateral damage.”
White House and State Department officials refused to answer specific questions about the status of the detainees out of concern for their safety and security, but called on Iran to release them immediately.
“President Trump has been clear that he wants every unjustly detained American to return home safe and sound, and that there will be severe consequences for regimes that treat Americans as political pawns,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said.
Valizadeh is among at least 15 journalists currently imprisoned in Iran, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
The 50-year-old fled the country in 2009 after speaking out about pro-democracy protests, according to a petition his lawyers submitted to the United Nations in January.
Valizadeh obtained US citizenship in 2022 while working in Washington for Radio Farda, the Persian-language arm of Radio Free Europe, which receives funding from the US government.
He was arrested in 2024 after returning to Iran to visit his elderly parents and sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of collaborating with the US government.
The United States has since officially classified Valizadeh as wrongfully detained, meaning it believes he is innocent, and has assigned the case to the State Department’s Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, the government’s chief hostage negotiator.
Other Americans whose plight has become public include Afrin Mohajer, a California resident of Iranian origin.
She was arrested in September and charged with spreading propaganda critical of the Islamic Republic on social media and insulting the Supreme Leader and Islam, according to her son Reza Zarabi, a political activist who lives in Germany.
Zarabi did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment this week, but he told European media that his mother is not a political activist and that he believes she was arrested to silence his outspoken opposition to the regime.
Meanwhile, Hekmati’s family is convinced that the New York City jewelry store owner is just the latest victim of Iran’s “hostage diplomacy.”
Iran has detained Americans for decades in hopes of securing the release of Iranians detained in the United States or obtaining concessions from Washington. Just last week, the United States sought to impose costs on Iran over the hostage-taking, with the State Department, one day before the conflict began, designating Iran as a state sponsor of unlawful detention.
Nofar said that her cousin Hekmati left Iran after the 1979 revolution, but returned several times without problems.
Then in May, Iranian authorities stopped him at the airport, confiscated his passport, and prevented him from leaving the country. Ultimately, he was charged under Iranian law that makes it illegal to visit Israel for the past 10 years.
Hekmati’s family confirms that his last trip to Israel was about 13 years ago on the occasion of his son’s bar mitzvah. They are also contesting espionage-related charges that accuse him of meeting with Mossad agents.
“They just wanted to take a hostage,” Nofar said. “An American hostage.”
There are also concerns that Hekmati’s faith exposes him to further mistreatment, says Kieran Ramsey, chief investigative officer at Global Reach, a nonprofit working on Hekmati’s case.
“He’s not only American, he’s Jewish — and we had some concerns early on in this case that he was being bullied,” said Ramsey, who previously led the US government’s hostage integration cell.
As for Namazi, he sympathizes with the families searching for solace, recalling A Chaotic fire 2022 It led to the deaths of at least eight prisoners during his time in Evin.
“I remember the smoke, the confusion, and the complete lack of reliable information,” the 54-year-old Washington resident said. “For us prisoners, it was terrifying. My mother says that night was one of the most difficult nights she had ever endured.”
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Tucker reported from Washington.
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Follow Philippe Marcelo at https://x.com/philmarcelo