Iran has refused to renew the visa of a British journalist based in Tehran, forcing him to leave the Islamic Republic, and has asked The Guardianto propose a new correspondent, an Iranian official said today.
The Guardianreported that Robert Tait had been "expelled" from Iran without explanation after his visa and residence permit were not renewed. The Iranian official said the Iranian authorities did not view the move as an expulsion.
"We don't like to use that word for this case," the official from the foreign media department at the Culture and Islamic Guidance Ministry said.
"His visa was not extended. [The ministry] welcomes The Guardiancontinuing its activity in Iran. We have sent a letter to The Guardianand asked them to introduce a new correspondent," the official, who asked not to be named, said.
He did not say why Tait's visa had not been renewed.
The Guardianreport said Iranian authorities originally threatened to deport the 43-year-old correspondent in March because officials were unhappy with his reporting.
Tait was allowed to stay in Iran after his paper appealed against the March decision, the report said. But he has now returned to Britain with his Iranian wife after his visa and residence permit expired, the newspaper added.
The Guardian'seditor Alan Rusbridger has appealed to the Iranian government to reconsider its decision.
Rights groups and diplomats say there is a broad crackdown on dissenting voices in the Islamic state, which is under Western pressure over its disputed nuclear programme. The authorities deny such moves, saying they allow free speech.