ICE releases Iranian professor at University of Oklahoma
US immigration authorities have released Vahid Abedini, a former reformist activist in Iran and a professor of Iranian studies at the University of Oklahoma.
US immigration authorities have released Vahid Abedini, a former reformist activist in Iran and a professor of Iranian studies at the University of Oklahoma.
In a post on his LinkedIn account, Abedini said he was released from custody on Monday night after several days in detention by US immigration authorities.
“I’m relieved to share that I was released from custody tonight. It was a deeply distressing experience, especially seeing those without the support I had,” he wrote on LinkedIn, thanking colleagues and academic associations for their help.
Abedini “was detained for standard questioning and was released," The New York Times reported on Tuesday citing Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security.
Joshua Landis, the director of Middle East studies at the university, said on X that Abedini was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while boarding a flight to Washington DC to attend the Middle East Studies Association conference and was taken to jail on November 22.
"He has been wrongfully detained because he has a valid H-1B visa —a non-immigrant work visa granted to individuals in 'specialty occupations,' including higher education faculty. We are praying for his swift release," Landis wrote.
According to the University of Oklahoma’s website, Abedini is an Iranian studies professor whose work focuses on elite politics, technology and foreign policy.
The University of Oklahoma declined to discuss the matter and ICE did not respond to an Iran International request for comment.
A search of the ICE detainee database shows a record for Vahid Abedini, listing his country of birth as Iran and his status as “in ICE custody.”
According to Iranian media, Abedini has long been active in Iran’s reformist political circles and was a member of student Islamic associations at Tehran University.
Abedini was a signatory to a statement issued by reformists during Iran’s 2024 election supporting Masoud Pezeshkian.
Abedini received his master’s and PhD in political science from Florida International University, where he also taught as an adjunct professor before joining the University of Arkansas as a visiting assistant professor.
Iranian scholar and former State Department adviser Vali Nasr described Abedini's arrest as "wrongful detention."
"He is a respected scholar and teacher, and according to his employer, the University of Oklahoma, his visa is valid. I and all his is friends, colleagues and students call for his immediate release and to his work at the university," Nasr said on X.
Grossi told reporters in Manila that the agency’s aim was to “restore continuity of knowledge” and reestablish full verification inside Iran. His comments followed last week’s decision by the UN watchdog’s 35-member Board of Governors calling on Tehran to inform it “without delay” about the status of its enriched uranium stock and sites hit in June strikes.
The board’s resolution, backed by the United States, Britain, France and Germany, deepened tensions with Tehran, which condemned the vote as “illegal and unjustified.” Iran said the move nullified a September inspection accord reached in Cairo with Grossi through Egyptian mediation.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said at the time the Western powers had “killed” the Cairo accord and accused them of seeking escalation rather than diplomacy. Iran insists its cooperation with the IAEA remains within the limits of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty but says access to bombed facilities cannot resume until safety and legal issues are addressed.
Iran weighs NPT withdrawal
Iranian lawmakers have said Tehran is considering suspending or withdrawing from the NPT in response to the censure. Amir Hayat-Moghaddam, a member of parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said the option was “on the table” and under expert review.
He said a final decision would be coordinated between parliament and the Supreme National Security Council. Another lawmaker said a draft bill had been prepared to boost what he called Iran’s “nuclear and sanctions-related deterrence.”
Heydari had led Iran’s Army Ground Forces for more than seven years before being replaced on November 22 by Brigadier General Ali Jahanshahi, as part of a wider reshuffle across Iran’s military following the June war.
Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters is the unified combatant command under the Armed Forces General Staff, responsible for operational design and coordination across the army and the Revolutionary Guards.
The deputy post was previously held by Major General Hossein Hassani Sa'di, according to Iranian news agency ISNA, while Major General Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi currently commands the headquarters.
Citing what it described as Western sources, the Beirut-based daily said Trump authorized bin Salman to manage contacts aimed at brokering an agreement with Tehran covering the nuclear file and sanctions.
According to the report, bin Salman argued to Trump that a US-Iran understanding was necessary for stability across the Middle East and warned that Israel could try to derail any diplomatic track through renewed military action.
Sources told the outlet that bin Salman had asked Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, during their September meeting in Riyadh about Tehran’s stance on a Saudi initiative toward Washington on a possible agreement with Iran. They said Larijani later sent a positive reply, while stressing that Tehran was not ready to make concessions.
Al-Akhbar also reported that Saudi officials contacted Iran’s leadership after the crown prince’s November 18 visit to the White House and agreed to hold a senior Saudi-Iranian meeting in Paris within 24 hours, to be followed by Saudi shuttle contacts between the United States and Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is due in Paris on Wednesday for talks with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot focused on Iran’s nuclear program and the status of two French citizens who, though released from prison, remain under travel restrictions and are staying at the French embassy in Tehran, France’s foreign ministry said.
There has been no indication of any parallel Saudi-Iranian meeting in Paris. Iran International could not independently verify al-Akhbar’s account.
The report comes as Iranian officials push back against reports that President Masoud Pezeshkian asked the Saudi crown prince to help revive nuclear talks with the United States.
Iran says Pezeshkian’s letter to the crown prince was a routine message on Hajj coordination, while Reuters reported last week, citing two sources familiar with the exchange, that the letter urged bin Salman to use his influence with Trump to restart stalled nuclear diplomacy.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said, “The president’s message to the Saudi crown prince had purely bilateral content,” and added that persistent “baseless speculation about it does nothing to advance national interests.”
Baghaei’s comments follow a rising domestic debate over whether Tehran is exploring indirect channels to Washington after a former lawmaker, Mostafa Kavakebian, said Pezeshkian had sent a message to Trump through bin Salman offering talks without preconditions with the permission of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
‘Mediator talk is secondary to US approach'
The government’s news agency IRNA said on Tuesday that the flurry of talk about third-party mediation reflects a broader tendency to read every letter, trip or phone call as a signal of imminent Iran-US negotiations, but argued that mediation is not the core issue.
In its analysis, the state news agency said Iranian officials view the real obstacle as the absence of a shared understanding with Washington on what talks would look like, adding that Tehran wants “equal and fair” diplomacy rather than what it describes as US attempts to dictate terms.
IRNA added that, from Iran’s perspective, questions about mediators such as Saudi Arabia or Egypt are secondary to whether the United States changes its approach and shows seriousness about balanced negotiations.
