A U.S. Navy veteran has been imprisoned in Iran for nearly six months on unspecified charges, according to his family.
Michael White, 46, from Imperial Beach, California, was slated to return to the U.S. on July 27 after visiting his girlfriend in Iran but never got on his flight from Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, to the U.S., White’s mother Joanne White told the New York Times.
A missing person report was subsequently filed and Joanne White said she was notified several weeks ago that her son, who is believed to have an Iranian girlfriend, is alive in an Iranian prison.
“All I know is that he is alive and they were putting in a request for a consular visit by the Swiss,” she said. After the Iranian hostage crisis, U.S. interests in Iran have been represented by Switzerland’s Embassy.
“We are aware of reports of the detention of a U.S. citizen in Iran,” the State Department said. “We have no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens abroad. Due to privacy considerations, we have no additional information to provide at this time.”
According to CNN, at least five other Americans, some with dual U.S.-Iranian citizenship, are detained in Iran.
Source » washingtonexaminer