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The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced Zam's arrest in a "sophisticated operation" on Monday,  describing him as a "counter-revolutionary" who was "directed by France's intelligence service".

Now Zam's wife, Mahsa Zarani, has revealed new details about her husband's arrest.

Zarani, told newsite Iran Wire, that her husband was kidnapped in Iraq, where he travelled for work.

"He was going to Iraq, and he told me that everything was fine. He arrived at Amman International airport, where he would travel onwards to Iraq, at which point I was unable to contact him," she said.

"Twenty-four hours after his arrival in Baghdad, he called me and he sounded nervous and unnatural. He didn't even ask me about our children. He spoke to me and told me that he was in good health and that he would call back later. Then he cut off the call. After that, he appeared on Iranian television."

Zam was shown on Iranian state television on Tuesday, sitting in an armchair next to the flags of Iran and the Revolutionary Guards, expressing regret for "what has happened in the past three or four years".

Zam's wife shared a copy of Ruhollah's airline ticket with Royal Jordanian Airlines, as well as an image of her husband at the airport in Amman.

Zam identified himself on state television as "the founder of Amadnews", a Telegram channel that the Iranian authorities accuse of having played a major role in a wave of protests that broke out in December 2017.

Read also: Iran arrests Instagram celebrity for 'blasphemy'

He says he was "wrong" to have trusted governments, "in particular trusting the French government". Zam reportedly lives in exile in Paris.

Telegram shut down Amadnews, which had around 1.4 million followers, last year after Iran demanded the messaging service remove the account for inciting an "armed uprising".

Iran witnessed a wave of protests in late 2017 and early 2018, first against the economic situation and later government repression.