Washington (AFP)

Secretary of State Antony Blinken offered his support on Monday to an Iranian-American journalist who was targeted, according to prosecutors, by a planned Tehran kidnapping on American soil.

A State Department official confirmed that Blinken spoke to Masih Alinejad, a journalist and anti-veiling activist, critical of Iranian rule.

In the evening, Antony Blinken hailed on Twitter "the immense courage" of Masih Alinejad, saying that he affirmed that the United States "will always support the indispensable work of independent journalists around the world".

"We will not tolerate attempts to intimidate or silence them," he added.

According to the journalist, who also spoke on Twitter, Mr. Blinken assured her that the United States "would continue the procedure in this case of kidnapping of a citizen on American soil".

Masih Alinejad said he thanked the head of US diplomacy for his appeal, and urged him to act on behalf of Western nationals imprisoned in Iran.

The United States should "unite with Europe and take serious action against a regime that kidnaps and kills," she wrote.

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She also encouraged Blinken to "hear the voices of different political groups" in Iran, as Joe Biden's administration is conducting indirect negotiations with Iran to try to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal.

The State Department has said it is pushing for the release of all Americans, and seeking to revive the agreement, which was left with a bang by former President Donald Trump in 2018, under which Tehran significantly reduced its nuclear work in exchange. promises of relief from sanctions.

Last week, the American justice announced the indictment of four "Iranian intelligence agents", accused of having prepared the kidnapping of Masih Alinejad in 2018 by trying to force Iranian relatives of the journalist to lure him into a third country, so that she could be arrested, taken to Iran and imprisoned.

As the plan failed, officers had hired private detectives to monitor her for the past two years.

The White House "categorically condemned" the alleged kidnapping attempt, but Iran denied it, saying Washington was creating "Hollywood scenarios."

© 2021 AFP