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TEHRAN (AFP) – Iran has expelled an Italian journalist who was reporting from the Islamic republic without a valid press visa, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Saturday.

Mohsen Moghadaszadeh, director of foreign press at the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance which monitors foreign journalists in the country, said Stenio Solinas came to Iran on a "tourist visa and wrote biased articles."

Solinas works for the Italian daily il Giornale, he said, adding that "he could have applied for a press visa and legally worked here."

Moghadaszadeh's office is in charge of issuing press identity cards to foreign journalists who want to work in Iran.

"Every year hundreds of Western journalists come to Iran legally and freely report. But the unprofessional and illegal actions of the reporter and his efforts to create a negative atmosphere against the Islamic republic are surprising," he said.

Moghadaszadeh did not say when the reporter had been expelled.

The expulsion of Solinas comes on the heels of reports that Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini had delayed a vis... >>>