An OU professor who was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement over the weekend has been released.
Vahid Abedini, an Iranian Studies professor, wrote in a LinkedIn post he was released from custody Monday night.
“It was a deeply distressing experience, especially seeing those without the support I had,” Abedini wrote. “My sincere thanks to my friends and colleagues at the University of Oklahoma, the Middle East Studies Association, and the wider Iran studies and political science community for helping resolve this.”
College of International Studies professor Joshua Landis said in a phone call to OU Daily Tuesday morning that Abedini is home after being taken to jail for "standard questioning."
Landis commended OU, particularly its legal counsel, for assisting in Abedini's release.
"We're all relieved because this, of course, has been a scary chapter, and delighted to find out that his visa status is in good order and that the university has done everything right, especially our legal counsel, in making his transfer from University of Arkansas to OU as smooth as possible," Landis said. "We're just sorry that he had to spend days in the clink."
Background
Landis wrote in a Monday post on the social platform X that Abedini was boarding a flight Saturday on his way to attend the Middle East Studies Association in Washington, D.C., when he was detained at Will Rogers International Airport.
Landis wrote in the post that Abedini has an H-1B visa, which is given to immigrants who are temporarily employed in specialty occupations or services of exceptional merit and abilities, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Landis wrote that this designation includes higher education faculty.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson confirmed Abedini's release in a Tuesday morning email to the Daily.
"This Iranian national was detained for standard questioning. He's been released," the spokesperson wrote.
Landis told the Daily in a Monday phone call that he received an email instructing him to direct all inquiries about Abedini’s detainment to OU Marketing and Communications. OU Marketing and Communications wrote in an email to OU Daily Monday afternoon that it did not have a comment on Abedini’s detainment.
Abedini teaches courses on elite politics, development, technology and foreign policy, focusing on the Middle East and Iran, according to his OU profile. According to OU’s course catalog, he is teaching two classes this fall: The Global Politics of Oil and Political Economy of Development. He’s listed to teach one course, Elite Politics in Iran, in spring 2026.
Before joining OU, Abedini served as a visiting assistant professor in the department of political science at the University of Arkansas.
