A bipartisan group of U.S. senators is pressing Secretary of State Marco Rubio to treat the case of Reza Valizadeh, a 49-year-old American journalist locked in one of Iran's most notorious prisons, as an "urgent priority."
Senators Brian Schatz, a Hawaii Democrat, Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican, Jacky Rosen, a Nevada Democrat, and Dave McCormick, a Pennsylvania Republican, sent a letter to Rubio warning that Valizadeh's life is at risk inside Tehran's Evin Prison. The four lawmakers called on the Trump administration to use "all available diplomatic channels" to bring him home. Their appeal lands as world leaders gather for the U.N. General Assembly in New York, and as the administration weighs its next moves in what CBS News described as a "nearly seven-month war with Iran."
Valizadeh, a U.S.-Iranian dual citizen and former journalist for Radio Farda, a U.S.-funded broadcaster, returned to Tehran earlier in 2024 to visit his aging parents. Iranian authorities arrested him and sentenced him to 10 years in prison on a charge of "collaborating with a hostile government", a charge tied to his journalism for an American outlet and alleged cooperation with the United States.
He has been held since September 2024. The State Department formally designated him as wrongfully detained in May 2025.
The bipartisan letter paints a grim picture of Valizadeh's condition. The senators wrote that his health has "significantly deteriorated" and that Iranian authorities have repeatedly denied him medical care, including an inhaler for his asthma.
Their language left little room for diplomatic hedging. In the letter, the senators stated:
"With every day of continued detention, Mr. Valizadeh's life is in danger."
They added that they are "extremely concerned that Iranian authorities could take sudden, arbitrary actions to endanger his life." The senators framed Valizadeh's imprisonment as part of a "longstanding pattern by Tehran of targeting journalists and dual nationals."
That pattern is well established. Valizadeh was the first American known to be detained by Iran since a September 2023 prisoner exchange that freed five Americans in exchange for $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets. The State Department itself has acknowledged the regime's playbook, stating that "Iran routinely imprisons U.S. citizens and other countries' citizens unjustly for political purposes" and calling the practice "cruel and contrary to international law."
Iran's hostage-taking extends beyond journalists. Iran executed Jamshid Sharmahd, a California resident and dual German-Iranian citizen, on what critics called dubious terrorism charges with no material evidence presented. His daughter publicly blamed the Biden-Harris administration for leaving him to die while handing billions to Tehran.
Valizadeh has not been silent. In June, he appealed directly to the U.S. government to secure his release. He said that he and other Americans detained at Evin were not receiving adequate medical treatment. CBS News previously obtained recordings in which Valizadeh described worsening conditions inside the prison.
His attorney, Ryan Fayhee, echoed the urgency in a public statement:
"Reza deserves the full attention and support of President Trump and the United States government, and he should be released immediately."
Fayhee tied the case to the broader diplomatic calendar, noting that as world leaders gather at the U.N. General Assembly, "Iran has an opportunity to demonstrate goodwill through action." He argued that releasing Valizadeh "could help break a cycle of mistrust that has made it unsafe for Iranian-Americans to visit the country of their heritage."
The senators put the point more bluntly in their letter: "Iran is not afraid to use American citizens as political pawns."
Secretary Rubio stated in June that the administration raises the cases of wrongfully detained Americans at "every opportunity" and called their release a "highest priority." He declined to discuss individual cases, saying that doing so could complicate efforts to free them. The State Department did not immediately reply to a CBS News request for comment on the Senate letter.
The congressional appeal comes just over two weeks after another American, Kamran Hekmati, was released from Evin Prison on September 5 after serving roughly half of a two-year sentence. But Hekmati's case illustrates the limits of Iranian cooperation, he remains barred from leaving the country. The State Department has called on Tehran to lift the exit ban so he can return to the United States.
In July, Dena Karari, another U.S.-Iranian dual citizen who had been barred from leaving Iran on allegations of espionage, was released and returned to the U.S. after suffering a heart attack, according to sources cited by CBS News.
Valizadeh's case distills a pattern that should alarm every American with ties abroad. A U.S. citizen traveled to Iran to see his elderly parents. The regime seized him, charged him for the work he did as a journalist for an American-funded outlet, sentenced him to a decade in prison, and denied him basic medical care. His health is failing. Four senators, two Republicans, two Democrats, agree his life is in danger.
The bipartisan nature of the letter is itself notable. Schatz and Rosen sit on the left. Blackburn and McCormick sit on the right. They found common ground on a simple proposition: an American journalist should not rot in an Iranian prison for doing his job.
Whether the administration's diplomatic channels can produce results remains an open question. Rubio has signaled the right priorities. The test is whether those words translate into action before Valizadeh's health deteriorates beyond recovery.
When a regime makes a habit of kidnapping Americans, the only language it understands is consequences, and so far, Tehran has paid too few of them.
