Washington Post reporter part of plot to oust Iran gov’t

The Washington Post’s correspondent in Tehran, Jason Rezaian, was part of a scheme to overthrow the Iranian government, says an Iranian MP.

Citing a report by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)’s Intelligence Department, Nozar Shafi’i the spokesman for the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) said on Sunday that Rezaian was tasked with implementing a scenario orchestrated by a group of US Senators who believe that if the US can revive the relations it had with Tehran before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the Iranian government could easily be toppled.

As mentioned in the report, said Shafi’i, Rezaian is an American national of Iranian origin, and a “very important element” for Washington, “so much so that the Americans are trying hard to secure his release.”

Rezaian was arrested in Iran on July 22, 2014 on charges of espionage, collaborating with hostile governments, gathering classified information and disseminating propaganda against the Islamic Republic. US officials have been pushing for Rezaian’s release ever since he was taken into custody.

Rezaian, a 39-year-old correspondent with a dual Iran-US citizenship, was apprehended along with his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, in the Iranian capital, Tehran.

Jason’s wife, who worked as a correspondent for the UAE-based newspaper National, was released on bail in October 2014.