Morad Tahbaz details harsh Evin Prison ordeal and warns US‑Iran strikes could endanger hostages

American conservationist Morad Tahbaz, an Iranian‑American who co‑founded the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation, spent nearly six years in Tehran’s Evin Prison after being arrested in January 2018. He was held in Ward 2A, a high‑security wing run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ intelligence arm, and endured four months of solitary confinement in a cramped cell under constant bright light. He was allowed out only twice a day for about ten minutes, forced to wear a blindfold, and received a heavily monitored weekly phone call with his wife.

Tahbaz was released in September 2023 together with four other Americans. He says the accusations against him—such as training lizards to spy for Israel—were fabricated. Now back in the United States, he warns that recent U.S. strikes on Iran could make the remaining American detainees in Iran more vulnerable and valuable bargaining chips in any future negotiations.