Iranian Government Confirms Arrest of American Citizen

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran confirmed the arrest of an American citizen named Michael White in Iran. Iran denied allegations of pressure on the imprisoned American but provided no explanation regarding the reasons for his arrest or his current conditions.

Bahram Qassemi, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, formally confirmed the arrest of a former American military officer and stated: “An American citizen named Michael White was arrested in the city of Mashhad some time ago. The matter was conveyed to the U.S. government through the U.S. Interests Section in Tehran in the initial days of his detention, and the U.S. government has been informed of his arrest from the very beginning.”

Qassemi called reports by some American media outlets regarding unfavorable conditions and harassment of this American prisoner “psychological warfare and deliberate lies,” and said: “Such false and incorrect reports are strongly denied.”

Qassemi, according to the official Iranian news agency IRNA, stated: “This person’s case is being reviewed by the competent legal authorities, and upon completion of this process, the matter will be reported by the relevant authorities at the appropriate time.”

The Foreign Ministry spokesperson and other Iranian sources have provided no explanation regarding the charges against Michael White or his current conditions.

News of Michael White’s arrest was published by the American newspaper “The New York Times” on Tuesday, January 8th, and the previous day the website Iran Wire had reported this news.

That report was based on the account of a former Iranian prisoner who had seen Mr. White in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad in October.

More than five months in detention

According to Michael White’s mother, her son has been missing in Iran since July. He had gone to Iran to visit his girlfriend and was supposed to return to the United States via Dubai on July 27th, but has not returned since.

She stated that she has no knowledge of her son’s charges or the reason for his arrest, and added that he had previously traveled to Iran “five or six times.”

According to reports from some media outlets, Michael White is 46 years old and a resident of California, and was previously a member of the U.S. Navy.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson confirmed that the United States became aware of the arrest of an American citizen in Iran through the U.S. Interests Section at the Swiss Embassy in Tehran.

Source: DW