Iran revokes New York Times correspondent鈥檚 accreditation

Abbas Mousavi, spokesman for Iran鈥檚 Foreign Ministry, gives a press conference in Tehran on May 28, 2019. (AFP)
  • Journalists in Iran face harassment from security services, while others have been imprisoned for their work

DUBAI: Iran has revoked the press accreditation for The New York Times鈥� correspondent based in Tehran without explanation, the newspaper reported Tuesday.
While the newspaper said it remained hopeful Thomas Erdbrink soon would be allowed to work again, the revocation comes amid heightened tensions between the US and Iran stemming from President Donald Trump鈥檚 withdrawal from Tehran鈥檚 nuclear deal with world powers a year ago.
Iran pulled Erdbrink鈥檚 government-required authorization to work as a journalist four months ago, the Times said. He鈥檚 been unable to work since February and the Times said it decided to go public with his situation 鈥渁fter recent speculation and comments on social media.鈥�
鈥淥fficials of Iran鈥檚 Foreign Ministry have repeatedly assured The Times that Mr. Erdbrink鈥檚 credential would soon be restored but have offered no explanation for the delays or for why it was revoked,鈥� the Times reported, quoting international editor Michael Slackman. 鈥淗e added that there are some indications this will be resolved soon.鈥�
Iran鈥檚 mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment. There was no immediate response in Iranian state-run media.
Erdbrink, a Dutch national, previously worked as a correspondent for The Washington Post as well. He鈥檚 married to Iranian photographer Newsha Tavakolian, who is represented by the Magnum photo agency.
Both he and Tavakolian were the focus of 鈥淥ur Man in Tehran,鈥� a 2018 documentary about his work and life as a Western journalist in Iran.
Journalists in Iran face harassment from security services, while others have been imprisoned for their work. While local journalists face the brunt of that, foreign journalists in Tehran, especially those with Western ties, have been imprisoned as well.
The last major case involved Iranian-American reporter Jason Rezaian of the Washington Post, who was convicted in an internationally criticized, closed-door espionage trial in 2015. A 2016 prisoner swap negotiated between Iran and the US amid the start of the nuclear deal freed Rezaian and three other Iranian-Americans in exchange for pardons or charges being dropped against seven Iranians. That deal also saw the US make a $400 million cash delivery to Iran.