(Reuters) -Reza Valizadeh, an Iranian-American journalist who once worked for a U.S. government-funded broadcaster, is believed to have been detained by Iran for some months, the Associated Press reported on Sunday, citing authorities.
The imprisonment of Valizadeh was acknowledged to the Associated Press by the U.S. State Department, the news agency said.
Valizadeh previously worked for Radio Farda, an outlet under Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that is overseen by the U.S. Agency for Global Media, the AP said.
In Washington, the State Department said in an email it was aware of reports Valizadeh had been arrested and was working to gather more information. It declined to comment further, citing privacy considerations.
The AP report said Iran has not acknowledged detaining Valizadeh, and said Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs was not immediately able to comment in response to a Reuters request.
The Voice of America, another U.S. government-funded media outlet overseen by the Agency for Global Media, first reported the State Department was acknowledging Valizadeh’s detention, the AP said.
(Reporting by Devika Nair in Bengaluru and David Ljunggren in Ottawa;Editing by Frances Kerry and Matthew Lewis)
