US hostages in Iran face heightened risk as protests spread, experts say number held may exceed estimates

FIRST ON FOX: The Islamic Republic of Iran whitethorn person much than 8 American citizens and residents successful its captivity, Fox News Digital tin uncover based connected accusation from sources extracurricular the Trump Administration who are well-versed with Tehran’s hostage-taking argumentation system.

Information shows that the full fig of Americans citizens and residents held hostage by the Iranian authorities could transcend the open-source information listing 5 American hostages successful Iran.

Iran’s authorities arrested U.S. citizen, Kamran Hekmati, a 70-year-old from Great Neck, New York who went to Iran to sojourn household members past May. Iranian authorities arrested Hekmati successful July 2025 and charged him with "making a travel to Israel" 13 years anterior to his sojourn to Iran. Hekmati, a Persian Jew who was calved successful Iran, traveled to Israel successful 2012 to be his son’s Bar Mitzvah.

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A presumption of the entranceway of Evin situation successful Tehran, Iran Oct. 17, 2022. (Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters)

Iran bans Iranians from traveling to the Jewish authorities and immoderate relations with Israel. Tehran considers Hekmati an Iranian national due to the fact that the authorities does not admit dual citizenship.

The regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Court sentenced Hekmati to 4 years successful prison, and helium is being held successful Iran’s infamous Evin Prison — a analyzable that is reportedly utilized to torture governmental prisoners and dissidents. The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) noted Hekmati has besides been held astatine an quality ministry installation successful Tehran. CNN reported that Hekmati suffers from bladder cancer.

The authorities arrested different U.S. citizen, Afarin Mohajer, connected Sept. 29, 2025 astatine Imam Khomeini International Airport. The quality rights group, HRANA, said determination was nary accusation astir the charges leveled against the Californian resident. 

According to U.S. authorities outlet Radio Farda that reports connected Iran, Mohajer has an inoperable encephalon tumor and was told by "a doc earlier going to situation that she does not person agelong to live," citing her son. She visited Iran to instrumentality attraction of her husband’s finances pursuing his death, the lad said. While released successful December connected bail, she is not allowed to permission Iran.

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This framework drawback from a video released Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, by Iranian authorities tv shows a antheral holding a instrumentality to papers burning vehicles during a nighttime of wide protests successful Zanjan, Iran.  (Iranian authorities TV via AP)

The authorities arrested an unnamed Iranian-American woman in December 2024. She was released from prison, but the authorities seized the passports of the dual national, and she is besides barred from leaving Iran.

The erstwhile Radio Farda writer Reza Valizadeh traveled to Iran successful March 2024 to sojourn relatives, according to a study by United Against a Nuclear Iran (UANI) connected American hostages held successful Iran.  

The U.S. authorities outlet Voice of America, similar Radio Farda, reports connected Iran, said Valizadeh was reportedly arrested successful September 2024 and charged with "collaborating with overseas-based Persian media."

The complaint was aboriginal changed to "collaborating with a hostile government." UANI noted that "VOA cited sources claiming that Valizadeh was arrested for not cooperating with the IRGC’s Intelligence Organization and Iran’s quality ministry and for not expressing regret for his journalism."

The authorities arrested Shahab Dalili, a imperishable U.S. nonmigratory who lives successful Virginia, successful 2016.

The UANI study stated that Taghato, a Farsi-language quality outlet operated by Iranians surviving successful the U.S., posted connected Twitter (now X) that the Iranian authorities arrested Dalili successful March 2016. He went to Iran aft his father’s death. The opaque Iranian authorities judicial strategy sentenced him to 10 years successful situation for "allegedly cooperating with a hostile government."

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Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei pictured  sitting adjacent to elder subject authoritative successful Iran. (Getty Images)

A U.S. State Department authoritative told Fox News Digital that "As Secretary Rubio has said, President Trump is moving to unafraid the merchandise of detained Americans astir the world.  The Iranian authorities has a agelong past of unjustly and wrongfully detaining different countries’ citizens as hostages for usage arsenic governmental leverage. Iran should merchandise these individuals immediately. "

The U.S. authoritative added that "Due to information considerations with respect to ongoing cases, we bash not disclose circumstantial numbers of hostages."

Barry Rosen, a erstwhile American diplomat and subsister of the Iran hostage situation that took spot successful 1979 when Islamist revolutionary students took a radical of 66 Americans captive, told Fox News Digital, successful the aftermath of the nationwide revolts against the regime, "We are successful a precise intractable concern close now" and expressed skepticism astir bringing the hostages backmost nether the existent situation.

Barry Rosen, 1 of the hostages from Iran, waves arsenic they measurement disconnected the level successful Germany, Jan. 1, 1981.  The hostages were kept implicit a twelvemonth successful captivity aft the US Embassy was stormed during the Iranian Revolution. (Tim Chapman/Getty Images)

The nationwide strikes and demonstrations to topple the authorities with respect to securing the hostage’s merchandise "make it adjacent much complicated," Rosen said, adding that hostage diplomacy "has ever been complicated." Rosen was evetually released having spent 444 days successful captivity.

"Quiet diplomacy is the champion mode to go, but I don’t deliberation determination is immoderate mode for quiescent diplomacy close now," helium said.

When discussing "quiet diplomacy," Rosen said helium was "talking astir dealing with the hostage concern with Iran, fixed each our differences connected the atomic concern betwixt some countries. But erstwhile it comes to the uprising successful Iran, we request to loudly enactment a antiauthoritarian Iran."

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Rosen, who considers Iran his 2nd home, said, "I privation to spot the Iranian radical bash what they are doing now, truthful the Iranian authorities implodes by itself." He said, "Support for uprisings (and protests) is the close mode to go. I americium fearful of immoderate subject operations that could origin chaos successful the country."

Rosen co-founded the non-government enactment Hostage Aid Worldwide, which provides existent accusation connected hostages held extracurricular the U.S.

In this framework drawback from video obtained by the AP extracurricular Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a representation of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protestation successful Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

Navid Mohebbi, who worked arsenic a Persian media expert for the U.S. State Department's Public Affairs Bureau, wrote a booklet connected "Breaking the Trend: How to Combat the Hostage-Taking Business successful Iran" for the U.S.-based National Union for Democracy successful Iran.

He told Fox News Digital, "Iran’s hostage-taking is not a bid of isolated cases; it is simply a systematic authorities argumentation designed to extract governmental and economical concessions. The Islamic Republic has learned that detaining Americans and different Western nationals carries small outgo and often produces tangible rewards — whether sanctions relief, entree to frozen assets oregon asymmetric captive swaps. As agelong arsenic this behaviour is treated arsenic a humanitarian occupation alternatively than a coercive strategy, Tehran volition proceed to trust connected hostage-taking arsenic a halfway instrumentality of statecraft."

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He continued, "To reverse this pattern, the United States indispensable enforce consequences that are measurable, cumulative and irreversible. Every hostage-taking lawsuit should trigger automatic penalties: targeted sanctions connected judges, prosecutors, interrogators, situation officials and quality officers involved; imperishable confiscation — not escrow — of authorities assets tied to hostage diplomacy; and coordinated diplomatic consequences with allies, including question bans, removal of authorities officials from planetary bodies and the pursuit of Interpol reddish notices wherever applicable. The connection indispensable beryllium unambiguous: hostage-taking volition permission the authorities worse off, not better."

Mohebbi urged that, "The U.S. should formally designate Iran arsenic a authorities that engages successful hostage-taking, prohibition the usage of U.S. passports for question to oregon done Iran and support a nationalist registry of authorities officials progressive successful these crimes. At the aforesaid time, Washington indispensable supply stronger, much transparent enactment to families of hostages and guarantee sustained nationalist naming and shaming. Only by raising the outgo crossed legal, diplomatic, fiscal and reputational fronts tin the United States statesman to dismantle Iran’s hostage-taking business," helium said.