Siamak Namazi, Fourth Iranian-American, Arrested in Iran

Informed sources confirmed to Radio Farda the arrest of Siamak Namazi, an Iranian-American director of strategic planning at Crescent Oil Company, in Tehran. Mr. Namazi was arrested about two weeks ago. Official authorities have not yet confirmed or denied the news of Mr. Namazi's arrest. Siamak Namazi had previously collaborated with several American organizations, including the Woodrow Wilson Center and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). In a report for the Woodrow Wilson Center, he criticized the impact of sanctions on the drug situation in Iran. Recently, an article published in the American magazine Daily Beast referred to the Namazi family as one of the main lobbyists behind the scenes in the relationship between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States. Mr. Namazi, along with his family members, has been involved with the consulting firm Atieh Behbood in Iran. One of the main goals of this company, according to Mr. Namazi, is to provide consulting to major oil companies. Meanwhile, some articles have also mentioned the closeness of Atieh Behbood to the Hashemi Rafsanjani family. Mr. Namazi is the fourth Iranian-American to be arrested in Iran. Before him, Amir Hekmati, Jason Rezaian, and Saeed Abedini, three other Iranian-Americans, were arrested on various charges in Iran and imprisoned. Previously, Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, had spoken about the possibility of a prisoner exchange between the two countries, Iran and the United States.