Dr Vahid Abedini, a valid H-1B visa-holding University of Oklahoma professor, was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Saturday (US time). He was arrested when he was travelling to the annual conference of the Middle East Studies Association in Washington, DC, the New York Times quoted Dr Joshua Landis, the co-director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma.
At the time of the arrest, Abedini was boarding a flight at Will Rogers International Airport.
As per a statement posted online, the Iranian professor was released from US immigration detention three days after he was taken into custody at an Oklahoma City airport.
H-1B visa-holding Iranian professor Vahid Abedini breaks silence
Dr Abedini eventually took to his LinkedIn profile early Tuesday morning, expressing his relief upon being released from custody. He called the detainment a “deeply distressing experience.”
Acknowledging the support he found in his colleagues, he extended his gratitude to everyone who stood by him, including university colleagues, the Middle East Studies Association “and the wider Iran studies and political science community for helping resolve this.”
Why was Vahid Abedini detained?
Unfortunately, it remains unclear as to what prompted the US immigration authorities to arrest the Oklahoma university professor.
Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, offered little to no clarification on the same. In a text Tuesday morning, she said Abedini “was detained for standard questioning and was released,” according to the NYT.
An unspecified ICE spokesperson has since also confirmed to The Oklahoman in an email, “This Iranian national was detained for standard questioning.”
In an interaction with ABC-affiliate KOCO News, immigration attorney Melissa Lujan questioned the treatment of visa holders in the US. “What is the ripple effect going to be on people coming to the United States if they can just randomly be detained for a weekend in a detention facility?” she said.
Who is Vahid Abedini? ‘Legal H-1B visa holder’
He is a political scientist studying Iranian elites and political factions, according to Dr Landis’ description of Dr Abedini. The co-director of the Center for Middle East Studies further affirmed that the Iranian professor started working at the University of Oklahoma in Norman earlier this year. He is said to have come to the US on a legal ‘specialty occupations’ H-1B visa.
“He is completely legal,” Landis said on Monday.
Abedini’s colleague also shared that with the professor being in the process of switching jobs, he was on his path to getting a visa sponsored by his new employer. The Oklahoma University’s in-house legal aid was overseeing the application.
He holds a PhD in political science, which he secured from Florida International University.
Back in September 2024, Police records indicate that he got a speeding ticket in Ohio. An online course catalogue revealed he was currently teaching lessons called “The Global Politics of Oil” and the “Political Economy of Development.”
Prior to his Oklahoma University job, he was working as a visiting assistant professor in the political science department of the University of Arkansas, according to his LinkedIn page.
Abedini’s profile on The University of Oklahoma website reveals his two book projects.
“His book manuscript, based on his doctoral dissertation, examines the generational gap among Iranian political elites in the post-revolutionary era and addresses the question of succession crises and political instability in the absence of strong political party institutionalization in post-revolutionary states,” it states. “His second book project traces the trajectory of elite-making in modern Iran, exploring how politics, education, and international relations intersect to shape pathways to power.”
