Family, Friends Say U.S. Citizen Detained in Iran; Man Is Father of American Held Since October

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Family and friends say a U.S. citizen who is the father of a detained American in Iran has been arrested by Iranian authorities.

Baquer Namazi, whose son Siamak has been held since September, was arrested on Tuesday.

His wife writes in a Facebook post that she was told he is now in Tehran's Evin prison.

Haleh Esfandiari, a friend of the Namazis and a Mideast expert at the Wilson Center, says Namazi is more than 80 years old and a dual U.S.-Iranian

State Department spokesman Mark Toner says the U.S. is aware of reports an American was detained in Iran. He wouldn't comment further out of privacy considerations.

The arrest would mark the first of a U.S. citizen since last month's prisoner swap between the two countries.

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