© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Iran Frees U.S. Navy Veteran Michael White Who Was Detained For Nearly 2 Years

Michael White (left) meets Brian Hook, the U.S. special envoy for Iran, in Zurich, Switzerland, after White's release from detention in Iran.
U.S. State Department
Michael White (left) meets Brian Hook, the U.S. special envoy for Iran, in Zurich, Switzerland, after White's release from detention in Iran.

Michael White, a U.S. Navy veteran held in Iran for almost two years, was released by Iranian authorities on Thursday, according to a statement from his mother, Joanne White.

"For the past 683 days my son, Michael, has been held hostage in Iran by the IRGC [Iran's Revolutionary Guard] and I have been living a nightmare," Joanne White, said in the statement posted to Twitter by family spokesperson Jonathan Franks. "I am blessed to announce that the nightmare is over, and my son is safely in American custody and on his way home."

White left Iran on a Swiss government aircraft and will return with U.S. special envoy for Iran, Brian Hook. He was released as part of an agreement between the U.S. and Iran involving a Florida dermatologist who had violated U.S. sanctions on Iran, according to The Associated Press.

The AP also reported that White is recovering from COVID-19 and had been released from prison on a medical furlough and handed over to the Swiss Embassy in Tehran.

White was initially detained in July 2018 while visiting a woman he had met online. During that visit, he was convicted of insulting Iran's supreme leader and posting on social media, according to Franks. White was sentenced to a decade in prison.

President Trump tweeted on Thursday that he was happy to announce White's release.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo released a statement saying White had been wrongfully jailed in Iran. Pompeo also said that "there is more work to do" on the issue of Americans detained there.

"The United States continues to call for the release of U.S. citizens Baquer Namazi, Siamak Namazi, and Morad Tahbaz, who have been wrongfully detained in Iran for far too long, and to provide a full accounting of the fate of Robert Levinson," the statement said.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Austin Horn is a 2019-2020 Kroc Fellow. He joined NPR after internships at the San Antonio Express-News and Frankfort State-Journal, as well as a couple stints in the service industry. He aims to keep his reporting grounded in the experience of real individuals of all stripes.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Related Content