Members of European Parliament visiting Tehran were prevented Sunday to meet the foreign press and an official of the security services threatened journalists of reprisals if they were filming or taking pictures of the incident.
A press conference was scheduled for 12:00 local (7:30 GMT) in the hotel where the delegation of MEPs led by German Elmar Brok, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament is staying.
The police prevented Mr Brok to speak to the foreign press, first inside the hotel and on the sidewalk.
During the discussion between Mr Brok and the police officer who introduced himself as a member of the “national security”, the MEP said: “You cannot stop me from talking to reporters.” The officer replied that he had no right to speak to the media.
A team of a state-run TV was however allowed into the hotel for a meeting with Mr Brok. The MEP told AFP he had canceled the interview with the TV station.
Foreign journalists were earlier told by a hotel manager that there was no permission for a press conference. The activities of the foreign press, including Western, are closely monitored and subject to multiple authorizations.
Mr Brok was in Tehran for a two-day visit at the invitation of his Iranian counterpart Allaeddine Boroujerdi.
In October 2012, an official visit of MEPs was canceled after the refusal by the Iranian regime to allow a meeting with the co-winners of the Sakharov Prize in 2012, the lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and filmmaker Jafar Panahi.
