U.S. Border Agents Seize Devices of Journalist Max Blumenthal After He Returned from Reporting Trip to Iran

Democracy Now: 14 Jul 2026

SOURCE: https://www.democracynow.org/2026/7/14/headlines

US journalist Max Blumenthal, editor of The Grayzone newsite recently traveled to Iran to cover the funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

While visiting the ruins of the Rafi’-Nia synagogue in Tehran — which was obliterated by Israel on April 7 —  Blumenthal reflected on the absurdity of the recent claim by Zionist Trump advisor Mark Levine that the Iranian government wishes to see all Jews raped and murdered.

Following his return flight, US border agents detained him, interrogated him, and seized his electronic devices in an action he described as intimidation to deter critical reporting.

Prior to this trip, Blumenthal also produced the film Uncaptured: Jews in the Islamic Republic of Iran https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeUnjVdV4ho

Blumenthal said, “The seizure of my devices was a clear act of intimidation aimed at deterring me and others from doing further critical reporting from Iran about the illegal war ravaging the country.”

Max, Anya and the team at Grayzone are awesome. They have more integrity in their pinkies than the entire MSM combined.

4 minutes ago, Autocan said:

Max, Anya and the team at Grayzone are awesome. They have more integrity in their pinkies than the entire MSM combined.

Max Blumenthal has an extreme left bias.

I heard that Donald Trump was there in lady boy disguise to make sure that he has the Worlds biggest funeral of all times, if that was so bring it on.

7 minutes ago, Mr Awesome said:

Max Blumenthal has an extreme left bias.

Max has an extreme humanist bias. And his reporting is either on-site or rigorously sourced.

And I admire his guts. Takes plenty for an American to go to Iran and get on the airwaves from there.

6 minutes ago, Rams86 said:

I heard that Donald Trump was there in lady boy disguise to make sure that he has the Worlds biggest funeral of all times, ...

If Donald pops off tomorrow the funeral will make 20 million look like a block party. The word will be celebrating like everyone won the World Cup at the same time.

1 minute ago, Autocan said:

Max has an extreme humanist bias. And his reporting is either on-site or rigorously sourced.

And I admire his guts. Takes plenty for an American to go to Iran and get on the airwaves from there.

He is safe in Iran because the government knows he will provide favorable coverage. According to Max, anyone who protested in Iran did so because of the Jews.

https://www.dailypolitics.com/articles/bb46652a8575/

Journalist Max Blumenthal, editor of The Grayzone, offered a detailed analysis of Iran's current crisis in a recent interview on the Scott Horton Show (@scotthortonshow). He challenged the mainstream narrative of the protests, stating they have been "militarised" and directed by foreign intelligence services as part of a "regime change operation." Blumenthal cited a Mossad social media post in Farsi and similar language from former CIA Director Mike Pompeo as evidence of this covert campaign. He described scenes of severe violence—including attacks on security forces, mosques, and infrastructure—framing the events as organised "riots" rather than peaceful demonstrations.

3 minutes ago, Mr Awesome said:

According to Max, anyone who protested in Iran did so because of the Jews.

https://www.dailypolitics.com/articles/bb46652a8575/

I watched part of the video and didn't see Max say "anyone who protested in Iran did so because of the Jews". But what he does say about Mossad agents on the ground during the January protests is well-known, in fact, Pompeo famously bragged about it.

And Scott Bessent's on record about how he made the Iranian rial crash by having Dubai financiers sell it on a massive scale. Which caused of a lot of economic pain.

So, I guess ultimately one could link the Iran protests to Jews through their proxies in the west, but Max never said that in so many words.

12 minutes ago, Mr Awesome said:

He is safe in Iran because the government knows he will provide favorable coverage.

It's not his safety in Iran one worries about. But the vindictiveness of the current US regime which is intolerant of dissent.