U.S. veteran imprisoned in Iran

Iranian authorities on Wednesday confirmed the arrest of U.S. Navy veteran Michael White, who is the first American detained in the country since President Donald Trump took office. The semi-official Tasnim news agency said Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi confirmed the arrest. “An American citizen was arrested in the city of Mashhad some time ago, and his case was conveyed to the U.S. administration on the first days [of his incarceration],” Ghasemi said.

The circumstances of his arrest in July remain unclear. His mother, Joanne White, told The New York Times her 46-year-old son from Imperial Beach, Calif., went to visit his Iranian girlfriend and never returned. Joanne White said she filed a missing persons report and found out about his arrest three weeks ago from U.S. State Department officials.

White’s arrest could further complicate relations between the United States and Iran that worsened after the United States withdrew from a global nuclear pact and reimposed sanctions on the country.