'US could've demanded our exchange': Iranian-American journo Reza Valizadeh's plea from Tehran prison

TEHRAN, IRAN: Iranian-American journalist Reza Valizadeh has made a rare public plea from inside Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, urging the US government to help him and other Americans being held by Iranian authorities receive medical treatment.

In a message recently obtained by CBS News, Valizadeh said he and other detained Americans are suffering from health problems and are not receiving adequate medical care.

The Trump administration remains engaged in negotiations with Iran over a potential ceasefire and broader nuclear talks, while the release of detainees is being negotiated separately.

Reza Valizadeh raises health concerns in prison

Speaking from Evin Prison, Valizadeh described difficult conditions and said several American prisoners are struggling with untreated medical issues.

Valizadeh's lawyer, Ryan Fayhee, told CBS News that ever since the fires caused by a controversial Israeli airstrike on Evin Prison last June, Valizadeh has struggled to speak without coughing. He also suffers from persistent back pain and dental issues.

"He's survived an airstrike on the prison, he survived the prison itself, you know, the indignity of being held. As for being a journalist, he doesn't have much to lose here in reaching out and communicating with me and asking me, directing me, in fact, as his lawyer, to share his words with the American public," Fayhee told CBS News.

CBS News reported that US officials believe six Americans are currently detained in Iran.

The strategy is to first broker a deal to end the fighting and begin nuclear talks, then address the hostage issue through a separate negotiating track.

Valizadeh began the recording by expressing dismay that the US had chosen to release Iranian sailors from a ship seized by the US military and return them to Iran last month. He may have been referring to the May 4 seizure of the motor vessel Touska.

"The US government could have demanded our exchange in return. However, it did not happen," Valizadeh said.

He then asked what concessions the US had secured in exchange for the release of the Iranians and said that if those things 'make America great again,' then he fully respects the decision.

Reza Valizadeh questions US prisoner swap strategy

Valizadeh also expressed frustration over the decision to return Iranian sailors to Iran after they were detained following the seizure of a vessel by US forces.

The State Department formally designated Valizadeh as "wrongfully detained" in May 2025, placing his case under the authority of the US government's hostage affairs office.

However, diplomacy with Iran is being led by White House special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, rather than by State Department officials.

Valizadeh became a US citizen in 2022 through his work for US-funded broadcaster Radio Farda, the Persian branch of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

According to messages relayed to his attorney by family members, he believed he had received assurances from Iranian authorities that it was safe for him to return to Tehran, where most of his family resides.

At the time of his return, Valizadeh was no longer employed by Radio Farda. His brother has said he now believes those assurances were part of a trap, possibly involving a former colleague with ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Days later, IRGC agents detained him on a Tehran street, confiscated his belongings, including his US passport, and took him to Evin Prison, where he spent weeks in isolation and under intense interrogation. Iranian officials did not publicly acknowledge his arrest for nearly two months.

As negotiations between the United States and Iran continue, Valizadeh's message has drawn renewed attention to Americans still being held in Iran and the uncertainty surrounding when, or how, they might return home.