Jason Rezaian (Persian: جیسون رضائیان; born on March 16, 1976) is an Iranian-American journalist who served as Tehran bureau chief for The Washington Post.

[9] His mother, Mary (née Breme), of Evangelical Christian heritage originally from Chicago, moved from the U.S. to Turkey following her husband's death.

[22] Iranian authorities did not disclose Rezaian's whereabouts or welfare, nor did they reveal the circumstances surrounding the couple's arrest and subsequent detention.

[23] Officials from the Iranian judiciary and Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance have reportedly told journalists that the case is "security"-related and investigating it "is dangerous".

In a statement, Kerry reiterated calls to release Rezaian, as well as Amir Hekmati, Saeed Abedini, and Robert Levinson – three other Americans also detained in Iran as of that date.

[25] On January 15, 2015, an Iranian prosecutor told state media that Rezaian would stand trial in Iran in a Revolutionary Court on unspecified charges.

[27] On April 20, 2015, The Washington Post reported that Iranian authorities were charging Rezaian with espionage and three other serious crimes, including "collaborating with hostile governments" and "propaganda against the establishment."

According to his brother, Ali Rezaian, the Iranian government rested its accusations on two pieces of evidence: an American visa application for Jason's wife, Yeganeh Salehi, and a form letter sent to Barack Obama's 2008 White House transition team offering assistance in improving Iran-U.S.

[29] Six weeks before their arrests, Rezaian and Salehi were filmed for the CNN docuseries Parts Unknown, where they had discussed Iranian culture and their heritage with host Anthony Bourdain.

In writing for The Washington Post, Bourdain expressed shock over the couple's detention, stating: "These are good people, much loved and admired all over the world.

[31] In writing for The New Yorker, journalist Laura Secor asserted the "recognizably trumped-up charges" were "both patently absurd and entirely run-of-the-mill for Iran.

"[32] Some sources believe the timing of the arrest and subsequent announcements of Rezaian's legal status were calculated to influence Iran's president, Hassan Rouhani, in nuclear proliferation talks with the United States.

The New York Times noted that Rezaizan "may be serving as a pawn" in an internal Iranian struggle between reformers like Rouhani and hard-liners.

RWB also revealed that it found the evidence cited in the written indictment consisted solely of Rezaian's personal and professional emails, from which phrases had been taken out of context.

His case was a centerpiece of the Press Uncuffed campaign by Dana Priest and her students at the Philip Merrill School of Journalism at the University of Maryland in collaboration with the Committee to Protect Journalists.

[39] Ali Rezaian, Jason's brother, led a Change.org petition that more than 530,000 people from around the world signed; he and a group of supporters hand delivered it to the Iranian consulate on December 3, 2015.