Iran admits detention of 4th (!) American.

US businessman jailed, Iran confirms.

A semi-official Iranian news agency reported yesterday that California businessman Ali Shakeri is in custody in Tehran and is under investigation for possible national security violations. It is the first confirmation by Iran of his detention after repeated statements from the Tehran regime that it had no information on Shakeri.

Shakeri, a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen and University of Texas graduate who has lived in the United States since the 1970s, disappeared from Tehran's international airport on May 8 as he was preparing to return to the United States after the death of his mother in Tehran. His wife told The Washington Post that he had called her at least three times from Iran's notorious Evin Prison.

The confirmation yesterday of his detention came from the ISNA news agency.

The state department expresses its dismay. Dinah would like to express her contempt for the State Department.