London - The Reuters group has withdrawn its bureau chief in Tehran, Jonathan Lyons, after receiving a letter from the Iranian authorities making allegations against Mr Lyons and threatening Reuters with unspecified action. Mr Lyons was not expelled, contrary to reports.
Reuters editor-in-chief Geert Linnebank said: "We reject the allegations against Reuters and against Jonathan. The authorities' letter followed publication of a story by Lyons of an interview with a jailed dissident, Akbar Ganji, which ran on January 22nd under the headline `Iranian reformer warns of political explosion'. Reuters stands by that story as a fair representation of Mr Ganji's remarks."