- An American-born Iranian television anchor has been arrested as a material witness in an undisclosed U.S. federal investigation, according to a federal court order granted on Friday.
At the request of the Justice Department, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell issued the order, the first official U.S. confirmation of reports of the arrest of Marzieh Hashemi, an anchor for Iran's English-language Press TV news channel.
The order, which approved the partial unsealing of information in the case, said Hashemi was arrested on a material witness warrant issued by a federal judge and that she was assigned an attorney but "has not been accused of any crime."
Hashemi has made two court appearances, and the U.S. government expects her immediate release after she finishes testifying before a federal grand jury investigating violations of U.S. criminal law, the order continued.
It did not disclose further details of the case, which has added to tensions between the Iranian and U.S. governments over the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, the reimposition of harsh U.S. sanctions, and the detention of Iranian-American dual nationals by Iran.
Iran has called for the immediate release of Hashemi, who state-run Press TV said was arrested on Sunday by the FBI at St. Louis Lambert International Airport.
The FBI and the Justice Department declined to confirm her arrest or comment on the case.
A U.S. government source told Reuters it appeared that the grand jury was examining whether Press TV is a propaganda outlet that failed to register with the Justice Department as an agent of a foreign government.
Press TV said on Wednesday that Hashemi was born Melanie Franklin in the United States and changed her name after converting to Islam.
Pakistani man's uncanny resemblance to GoT's Tyrion Lannister is too much to ignore!
© Provided by The News International PESHAWAR: Picture of a man bearing uncanny resemblance to famed HBO series Game of Thrones' character Tyrion Lannister, has been doing rounds on social media of late. Shared by an internet user on Twitter, the image showcases an unidentified man belonging to Peshawar having stark similarity to the House of Lannister stalwart Tyrion Lannister, played by globally recognised Hollywood actor Peter Dinklage. View image on Twitter Farrukh @AbyyLay found Tyrion Lannister in Peshawar, Pakistan 1,591 5:14 PM - Feb 12, 2019 829 people are talking about this Twitter Ads info and privacy While Pakistanis are excited to finally get their own Tyrion Lannister, others cannot help but gape at the eerie likeness between the two. Some have even hilariously commented that they now have a local Tyrion Lannister from House of Pekhawar. Here's how the internet world has reacted to the image: ...
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