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News & Publications

October 29, 2015

NIAC Troubled By Reports of Iran Detaining Iranian American Siamak Namazi

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NIAC Contact: Elham Khatami
Phone: (202) 386-6325
Email: [email protected]

The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) released the following statement regarding unconfirmed reports that an Iranian American, Siamak Namazi, has been detained in Iran:

NIAC is deeply troubled by unconfirmed reports that Siamak Namazi, an Iranian American residing in Dubai, has been detained by Iranian authorities.

False claims have been made on some websites, including one published under a pseudonym, that Mr. Namazi and his family have played a leadership role in NIAC.  These reports are false, and the pseudonymously asserted claims were deconstructed in an analysis by the media watchdog group, Media Matters. While Mr. Namazi has known members of NIAC’s staff, neither he nor his family have had any leadership or any other significant role with NIAC.

Mr. Namazi’s biography lists him as the Head of Strategic Planning at Crescent Petroleum, a firm based in Dubai.  In 2013, Mr. Namazi published a report at the Woodrow Wilson Center arguing that humanitarian exemptions in the U.S. sanctions regime against Iran had failed to prevent severe medicine shortages in that country.  

The reports of Mr. Namazi’s detention have not provided any basis for his alleged detention. NIAC is very concerned by the continued detention of multiple Iranian Americans by the Iranian government, and is deeply troubled by the reports that Mr. Namazi may also have been detained. 

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