Talebzadeh himself told Iranian news sources that his mother was Seyyedeh Vahideh Amir Molouk Sharafi a descendant of Ayatollah Sharafolaali Isfahani.

[10] He became a fixer for American media in Tehran due to his command in English language and his earlier experiences, working closely with the crew of CBS News, which at the time had about thirty to forty personnel stationed in Iran.

[10] According to Hamid Naficy, Talebzadeh left CBS after he became disillusioned with media portrayal of the revolution by Western outlets.

[12] U.S. federal government accused Talebzadeh of working closely with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and traveling across the world to recruit assets for the Quds Force under cover of inviting guests to conferences.

[15] Other figures personally in touch with Talebzadeh include Aleksandr Dugin,[14] Ibrahim Mousawi,[14] Louis Farrakhan and Catherine Perez-Shakdam.

[21] New York public marriage license data show that Talebzadeh married Hoffman during the time he spent in United States.

[22] According to Hoffman's twitter page, she later accompanied him back and spent time in Iran acting as a journalist for CBS news.