Reza Sayah

Reza Sayah is a journalist and filmmaker based in Tehran, Iran. Sayah has reported for international news organizations including CNN, Al Jazeera, and France 24. Most recently, he reported on the Iran war. He was the first Western journalist to interview an active senior officer of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.

In 2008, Sayah helped launch CNN’s bureau in Islamabad, Pakistan, where for five years he reported on the country’s political turmoil, the government campaign against the Taliban, and the search for then-al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. 

In 2013, Sayah moved to CNN’s bureau in Cairo, Egypt, where he covered the crisis that followed the Egyptian revolution, the uprising that toppled former President Mohamed Morsi, and the election of current President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

Sayah has also covered the conflicts in Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, and Ukraine.

Prior to working at CNN, he spent more than 10 years reporting for major news networks in the United States, where he covered the 2000 and 2004 U.S. presidential elections, numerous natural disasters, and the 9/11 attacks.