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1-Page Summary of Diplomacy

Overview

Jason Rezaian moved to Iran to build a new life and reconnect with his family. While living in Tehran, he found love and started a career as a journalist. However, he was arrested by the Iranian government for espionage.

As Rezaian’s life intersected with the turbulence of international politics, he soon found himself in trouble.

At Home in Iran

In 2009, Jason Rezaian moved to Iran. He had always been interested in the country and wanted to live there because of its mystery and allure. He was 33 at that time and he decided to start a new life there as his father’s rug business was not doing well.

Just three weeks after arriving in Tehran, he was able to find freelance work. He wrote for The New York Times and other publications about the upcoming Iranian presidential election.

Tehran was a special place for him. He loved introducing tourists to the food there and showing them what it was like. It became his passion. This led him to host bloggers from around the world, including Anthony Bourdain, who wanted to film an episode of No Reservations in Iran but couldn’t because of political difficulties with filming in that country at that time.

Rezaian loved his life in Iran. He was a reporter and he could share many aspects of Iranian culture to the world. Rezaian enjoyed showing people that Iran is more than just what they hear about in the news, it’s complex and beautiful.

Rezaian lived in Iran for a few years and fell in love with Yegi. They got married, and their lives were perfect: Rezaian was writing as an Iranian correspondent for The Washington Post, and Yegi worked at Bloomberg News. They had many travels to Sri Lanka, Dubai, and Thailand together. Their apartment was large enough for them both to enjoy living there comfortably; they also enjoyed the comfort of their life together.

But after just 15 months of marriage, they both had to deal with a change in life.

The Arrest

On July 22, 2014, Jason Rezaian and his wife Yeganeh Salehi were packing their bags for a trip to the United States when they were confronted by two armed men in the parking garage of their apartment building. The men searched through Rezaian’s belongings and even cut into bags of tea. They also searched his house, looking for microchips or other suspicious materials. After searching the apartment for over an hour, agents forced Rezaian to surrender all passcodes for his phone, computer, email and social media accounts before blindfolding him and putting him in an unmarked van that drove them both to prison.

Rezaian was arrested and interrogated about being a spy. The basis for their claims were that he started a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for an article about avocados in Iran. His interrogators claimed that this meant he wanted to sabotage the country by bringing guacamole into it, which is against the religious values of Iran. Rezaian continued to insist that he’s not a spy, but just wants people in his country (Iran) to have avocado toast like everyone else does.

At first, Rezaian thought that the situation was a misunderstanding and that he would be released soon. However, it became clear to him that his ordeal would not end anytime soon. His captors threatened him with life imprisonment if he did not admit to crimes or even execution if he did not cooperate. They also told him that no one knew about their capture and no one would try to save them because news organizations reported they had died in a car accident.

Rezaian was arrested and interrogated, and he had to change his clothes. He spent the night in a prison cell alone. The next day, Kazem interrogated him again, but Rezaian denied all of the accusations against him.