U.S. academic is said to be detained
An Iranian American academic who works at a Washington institute is being held in prison after being prohibited from leaving Iran for more than four months, the institute and her husband said.
Haleh Esfandiari, director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars, was sent Tuesday to Evin prison after appearing at the Intelligence Ministry for questioning, the center said.
Iran has not confirmed that it is detaining Esfandiari. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack condemned the arrest and said Esfandiari was among a number of Iranian Americans being detained by Tehran.
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