A UK-based Persian news outlet has accused the Iranian government of detaining the relatives of one of its journalists in an alleged effort to silence its reporting on the escalating conflict with Israel.

Iran International says the journalist’s parents and younger brother were taken by members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and are now being held in an undisclosed location. The network believes this was done to pressure the journalist into quitting her job.

The journalist, whose name is being kept confidential for security reasons, reportedly received a phone call from her father, during which IRGC agents could be heard in the background dictating what he should say. “You’ve been told to resign—what more do you want?” he allegedly said.

In a statement, Iran International condemned the incident as an extreme attempt to intimidate the press and labeled it a clear case of hostage-taking. The channel also called for urgent intervention from global human rights and press freedom organizations.

This incident appears to be part of a broader pattern, where Iranian authorities have targeted the families of foreign-based journalists to force them into silence. Iran has consistently ranked among the world’s worst countries for press freedom, according to watchdog groups like the Committee to Protect Journalists.

The broadcaster has faced repeated threats from Tehran in recent years and warned that this latest move represents a dangerous intensification of the Iranian regime’s tactics against independent journalism.