Journalist Jason Rezaian, the former Tehran bureau chief at the Washington Post, who was imprisoned for 544 days in Iran two years ago, is speaking out on the murder of his Washington Post colleague Jamal Khashoggi. Rezaian is urging the Trump administration to hold Saudi Arabia accountable for Khashoggi's killing.

Rezaian joined "Salon Talks" to discuss his new book, "Prisoner: My 544 Days in an Iranian Prison," which details the story of his own widely covered arrest, imprisonment and release from an Iranian prison from July 2014 to January 2016.

Prior to either of them being held captive, Rezaian had a working relationship with Khashoggi, as they both wrote for the same section of the paper. "We had encounters with each other. We had meals together. We had conversations about Saudi Arabia and Iran," Rezaian explained.

He emphasized that Khashoggi's killing is a threat to press freedom and will be "felt for a very, very long time to come." He continued, "The initial response of the Trump administration and the ongoing sort of acceptance that we're not really going to do anything about this is so bad for press freedom for this country and around the world."

Watch the video above to hear why Rezaian thinks Khashoggi's death will have lasting global ramifications for journalists. And watch the full episode to learn more about the 544 Rezaian spent in the Iranian prison and his book "Prisoner: My 544 Days in an Iranian Prison."


SalonTV host Dean Obeidallah is also the host of the daily national SiriusXM radio program, "The Dean Obeidallah Show" on the network's progressive political channel. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.