A U.S. dual citizen has been arrested in Iran, becoming the fourth Iranian-American to be jailed in the country, newspapers reported on October 29.
Siamak Namazi, a Dubai-based executive at Crescent Petroleum Co., was arrested by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps' intelligence arm while visiting Tehran two weeks ago, according to The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal.
Namazi's family owns Atieh Group, a consultancy with offices in Tehran, Dubai ,and Vienna that offers advice about entering the Iranian market, The Wall Street Journal said.
Friends of Namazi told The Wall Street Journal that his family home was ransacked by Iranian intelligence agents, who confiscated his computer and conducted cyberattacks on some e-mail contacts.
A senior U.S. official said the administration is looking into the reports.
The news comes as Washington has been urging Tehran to release three other imprisoned Iranian-Americans, including Jason Rezaian, a correspondent for The Washington Post who was arrested last year and accused of spying.
The others are Amir Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine who was charged with spying, and Saeed Abedini, a convert to Christianity who led a Bible study group.