Latest news with #Iranianregime
CNN
10-07-2025
- Politics
- CNN
American who was wrongfully detained in Iran urges US citizens not to travel to country
An American who was wrongfully detained in Iran joined with the State Department to warn US citizens not to travel to the country 'under any circumstances,' and urged those planning to go to 'cancel your trip.' Emad Shargi was among five Americans freed in September 2023 as part of a wider deal between the US and Iran. He spent more than five years imprisoned there. In a video posted by State Department accounts on X Thursday, Shargi cautioned all Americans, including Iranian-Americans, not to visit. 'Now is a particularly bad time to travel there. I know you may want to visit family and loved ones, but there is a very high risk of arrest and imprisonment by the Iranian regime,' he said. 'Trust me, nothing is worth being tortured for and spending years of your life in filthy, dark Iranian jail cell.' 'To anyone planning to travel to Iran, listen to me: cancel your trip,' he said. Shargi noted that he traveled to Iran to visit family in 2018 and was then arrested on false espionage charges. 'I know this because it happened to me,' he said. 'Before I went to Iran, I thought, 'This surely won't happen to you. These things happen to people who have done something wrong, who have said things against the Iranian regime,'' Shargi said. 'I was wrong. Don't make my mistake. To fellow Iranian Americans, your Iranian background does not protect you. It makes you an even greater target for Iranian authorities to use you as a political pawn,' he said. Shargi's warning came as part of a new campaign redoubling longstanding warnings against travel to Iran. It comes following the conflict between Israel and Iran and after unprecedented US military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. A State Department spokesperson said Tehran does not recognize dual nationality but may target dual nationals because of their affiliation with the US. The travel advisory cautions that 'Iranian authorities routinely delay consular access to detained U.S. nationals,' and 'in particular, Iranian authorities consistently deny consular access to dual U.S.-Iranian nationals.' The US has no diplomatic presence in Iran and relies on Swiss officials to check on Americans detained there. 'The risk of wrongful detention, or State hostage-taking, may be even greater for Iranian Americans, including dual nationals, as they have been routinely taken and held unjustly by the Iranian regime in the past, held for years on false charges, subjected to psychological torture, even sentenced to death,' Special Envoy Adam Boehler said. For those who still choose to visit, the State Department has some stark advice: 'leave DNA samples' in case your loved ones need them and 'draft a will.'
CNN
10-07-2025
- Politics
- CNN
American who was wrongfully detained in Iran urges US citizens not to travel to country
An American who was wrongfully detained in Iran joined with the State Department to warn US citizens not to travel to the country 'under any circumstances,' and urged those planning to go to 'cancel your trip.' Emad Shargi was among five Americans freed in September 2023 as part of a wider deal between the US and Iran. He spent more than five years imprisoned there. In a video posted by State Department accounts on X Thursday, Shargi cautioned all Americans, including Iranian-Americans, not to visit. 'Now is a particularly bad time to travel there. I know you may want to visit family and loved ones, but there is a very high risk of arrest and imprisonment by the Iranian regime,' he said. 'Trust me, nothing is worth being tortured for and spending years of your life in filthy, dark Iranian jail cell.' 'To anyone planning to travel to Iran, listen to me: cancel your trip,' he said. Shargi noted that he traveled to Iran to visit family in 2018 and was then arrested on false espionage charges. 'I know this because it happened to me,' he said. 'Before I went to Iran, I thought, 'This surely won't happen to you. These things happen to people who have done something wrong, who have said things against the Iranian regime,'' Shargi said. 'I was wrong. Don't make my mistake. To fellow Iranian Americans, your Iranian background does not protect you. It makes you an even greater target for Iranian authorities to use you as a political pawn,' he said. Shargi's warning came as part of a new campaign redoubling longstanding warnings against travel to Iran. It comes following the conflict between Israel and Iran and after unprecedented US military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. A State Department spokesperson said Tehran does not recognize dual nationality but may target dual nationals because of their affiliation with the US. The travel advisory cautions that 'Iranian authorities routinely delay consular access to detained U.S. nationals,' and 'in particular, Iranian authorities consistently deny consular access to dual U.S.-Iranian nationals.' The US has no diplomatic presence in Iran and relies on Swiss officials to check on Americans detained there. 'The risk of wrongful detention, or State hostage-taking, may be even greater for Iranian Americans, including dual nationals, as they have been routinely taken and held unjustly by the Iranian regime in the past, held for years on false charges, subjected to psychological torture, even sentenced to death,' Special Envoy Adam Boehler said. For those who still choose to visit, the State Department has some stark advice: 'leave DNA samples' in case your loved ones need them and 'draft a will.'
BBC News
10-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
UK faces rising and unpredictable threat by Iran, report warns
The UK faces a "rising" and unpredictable threat from Iran and the government must do more to counter it, Parliament's intelligence and security committee has call comes as it publishes the results of a major inquiry which examined Iranian state assassinations and kidnap, espionage, cyber attacks and the country's nuclear committee, which is tasked with overseeing Britain's spy agencies, has raised particular concern over the "sharp increase" in plots against opponents of the Iranian regime in the UK."Iran poses a wide-ranging, persistent and unpredictable threat to the UK, UK nationals and UK interests," said Lord Beamish, committee chair. "Iran has a high appetite for risk when conducting offensive activity and its intelligence services are ferociously well-resourced with significant areas of asymmetric strength."He added: "Iran is there across the full spectrum of all the kinds of threats we have to be concerned with."The committee accuses the government of focusing on "crisis management" and "fire-fighting" with Iran, as well as on its nuclear programme, at the expense of other threats. It says the national security threat from Iran requires more resourcing and a longer-term approach."Whilst Iran's activity appears to be less strategic and on a smaller scale than Russia and China, Iran poses a wide-ranging threat to UK national security, which should not be underestimated: it is persistent and – crucially – unpredictable." The report was published on Thursday as part of the committee's inquiry into national security issues relating to Iran. It covers events up to August 2023, when the committee finished taking has previously been read by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who was sent a copy in March, and circulated among UK intelligence organisations to give them the opportunity to check accuracy and request redactions on national security to the committee, the government is required to provide its response within 60 days of committee examines the policies, expenditure, administration and operations of UK intelligence organisations including MI5, MI6, and GCHQ. This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.
