(TJV NEWS) A 70-year-old Jewish man from New York is among four American citizens reportedly detained in Iran, according to rights groups and media reports. The individuals were all said to have traveled to the country to visit family members.

The New York Times reported Saturday that the families of three of those held asked not to have their names released, citing fears that disclosing their identities could lead to harsher treatment in Iranian custody.

The 70-year-old man, a jewelry business owner, and another American were arrested shortly after Israel began a series of airstrikes targeting Iran’s nuclear and missile facilities in mid-June. Two human rights groups—the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) and Hengaw—said the arrests appeared tied to suspicions of links to Israel.

The detained man is being questioned over a prior trip to Israel, though it remains unclear when that visit occurred.

Earlier this week, Israel’s Kan public broadcaster reported that at least 35 Jews were detained in Iran during or after the war on suspicion of spying for Israel. Two of those arrested were U.S. citizens. One—a Jewish American from Los Angeles with Iranian roots—was reportedly released on bail, while the second remained imprisoned. It’s not confirmed whether that second individual is the same man described in the Times’ report.

Additionally, a satellite image of Iran’s Evin prison—known for housing political prisoners—was circulated following reports that the Californian woman arrested alongside the New Yorker was moved after the prison was hit during the Israeli air campaign. Her current location is unknown.

Israel launched a surprise military operation against Iran on June 13, targeting key nuclear and missile development sites. The offensive was described by Israeli officials as a preemptive strike to prevent Iran from achieving its long-stated goal of destroying the Jewish state. The conflict ended 12 days later under a ceasefire brokered by the United States.

Two senior Iranian officials, speaking anonymously to The New York Times, confirmed the detentions of the New York man and the woman from California. They said the arrests were part of a broader effort to clamp down on alleged operatives working for Israeli and American intelligence.

The Times also noted that another Iranian-American woman, initially arrested in December 2024, had been released from prison but is barred from leaving Iran after both her Iranian and American passports were confiscated. She was charged with espionage following the June conflict, according to her U.S.-based attorney.

In a separate case, journalist Reza Valizadeh—an Iranian-American and former staffer at the U.S.-funded Radio Farda—was arrested in October 2024 and later sentenced to a decade in prison. He was convicted of “collaborating with a hostile government.