Why Is Iran Holding Washington Post Reporter Jason Rezaian?

The Last Refuge ^ | October 12, 2015 | sundance

[Bratch]

 

Reports: WaPo's Jason Rezaian convicted in Iran http://t.co/8H5bVnPY5K

| AP Photo pic.twitter.com/D1MH9fICXI

  — POLITICO (@politico) October 12, 2015

For people who might not have followed the story as it unfolded there’s an easier explanation for why Iran is holding Jason Rezaian.   The underpinning is Iran knowing the U.S. State Department and CNN collaborate to use media as a tool to advance U.S. foreign policy objectives.

In December 2014 CNN ran and episode of Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown filmed in Iran. It seemed innocuous at the time, yet as with all things Turner Broadcasting, it also seemed to be another set up for a larger political agenda item.

Was something, something important to the administration, coming on the horizon which would benefit from some pro-Iranian sentiment blasted into the U.S. psyche. Something which might be known as a 2015 ‘Iranian Nuclear Deal’, perhaps.

Was it just happenstance that Bourdain interviewed Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian and his wife, Yeganeh Salehi -also a journalist- who was arrested less than two weeks after the segment was filmed.

Coincidence?

EARLIER Jason Rezaian charged by Iran with:

A Washington Post reporter is being charged by Iran’s Revolutionary Court with crimes that include “collaborating with hostile governments”and “propaganda against the establishment.” (link)

Does Iran know something about the State Sponsoring of, and manipulation of, media for the benefit of regime intentions?

Of course they do.

But before getting into why Iran may have viewed Jason Rezaian as a threat, it first becomes necessary to for U.S. audiences to see CNN the same way Iran does, as state run TV.

April 2015, CNN ran a segment on a new show called The Wonder List with Bill Weir. The focus of the enviro-messaging was the fragility of the Florida Everglades.

Bill Weir […] our first season of “The Wonder List.” To be honest, as a veteran of a few ho-hum airboat rides, I came with really low expectations.

But this place, more than any other this season, surprised me with sublime beauty, great stories and a sense of real urgency as good people try to right the wrongs of the past. (link)

A week later and violà, well, what do you know – another coincidence:

TODAY […] President Barack Obama on Wednesday plans to visit the Everglades — the South Florida wetlands that form part of the state’s large tourism sector -— to promote his policies combating climate change, a major piece of his second-term agenda. (link)

These would seem like disconnected coincidences if we didn’t know that CNN and the White House work in concert with each other both ideologically and specifically with a collaborative goal to work policy objectives through the media.

Most conservatives immediately respond with thoughts of CNN’s Candy Crowley supporting Obama during the CNN hosted 2012 presidential debate. Or you might reference CNN’s Fareed Zakaria who is also a key Obama foreign policy advisor.

2011 – CNN’s Fareed Zakaria said on Thursday that he has been having regular discussions with President Obama about national security and foreign policy. (link)

However, what is less known or referenced is the CNN story by Nick Robertson which never ran; the story of the Cairo Protest on September 11th 2012.

[…] CNN never aired the Nick Robertson report in Egypt because it completely contradicted President Obama and Hillary Clinton’s assertions. In short, the Robertson report, if aired, would have proved Obama and Clinton were lying.

The Nick Robertson CNN report was filmed on 9/11/12, yes the exact morning of the Cairo embassy protest, and, by coincidence, it would have aired at the exact moment Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama began attributing the Egyptian embassy protest, and ultimately the Benghazi attack to a “U-Tube Video”. (link)

And then there’s Amber Lyon. Amber Lyon is an award-winning journalist who worked for CNN. She says she was ordered to report fake stories, delete unfriendly stories adverse to the Obama administration (like the Nick Robertson report), and construct stories in specific manners while working for the left-wing network. Further claiming CNN is paid by foreign and domestic government agencies for specific content.

Since Ms. Amber Lyon made that bold proclamation in 2012 we’ve watched closely. As mentioned above, and with numerous specific examples, everything she has claimed turns out to be 100% accurate.

So is it really that surprising for Iran to see this image and not consider the Iranian national contained within it as a potential subversive.

Whether Jason Rezaian was actually trying to assist the State Department through CNNi with their common objectives toward Iran in 2014 is an unknown variable.

However, why Iran would think he was is brutally obvious.

 

[Bratch]

[ilovesarah2012]

Because Obama told them to?

[867V309]

The real shame isn’t that Rezaian is being held. It’s that so many other lamestreamers aren’t.

[KGeorge]

Rezaian looks like it might be Iranian/ Persian/ Armenian. Not that’s any kind of reason, just may be related to whatever the ‘’reason’’ is?

[tanuki]

Because they can-simple as that. There are no consequences to their actions. Especially as Obama won’t lift a finger to help his ‘friends.’

[ScottinVA]

“Why Is Iran Holding Washington Post Reporter Jason Rezaian?”

Because it can with impunity. Who’s going to stop them?

[Grams A]

Going to trade him for the rest of the detainees at Gitmo?

[ScottinVA]

Going to trade him for the rest of the detainees at Gitmo?

Yep, along with $500 billion and a blind sheik to be named later.

[piasa]

Author has a point- they really do act like state run media, and it’s no surprise the iranians would consider them spies.

[SkyDancer]

Because they can and secondly they view 0bama as an a$$.

[WayneS]

“Why Is Iran Holding Washington Post Reporter Jason Rezaian?”

Better them than me. I have no desire to hold him.

[Defiant]

Of course CNN is an arm of the Administration. However, why would Iran care, when Obama is trying to make Iran seem like good guys and using CNN to do that?

[MarkL]

I think it's a lot simpler than that... The Iranians have charged him with crimes because they could, knowing full well that it would be insulting to Obama, who they hope will grovel before them. Either way, Obama shows his impotence. If Barky demands they release him, they can say "NO," and slap him down. If he ignores it, they will regularly parade him in front of the media, to try to incite the media against Obama (nah, they'll always carry his water,) but either way, he looks impotent and weak.

Mark