An Iranian news agency has reported that a senior Iranian diplomat was detained in Tehran in mid-March for reasons that remain unclear.
The semi-official ISNA news agency said Bagher Asadi, once a senior diplomat at Iran’s UN mission in New York and more recently a director at the secretariat of the so-called D8 group of developing nations in Istanbul, was arrested.
ISNA reported the incident could be a "misunderstanding."
Asadi is linked to the reformist movement in Iran.
Sources who were willing to comment to Western media under condition of anonymity said Asadi's arrest could be connected to the June 14 election to pick a successor to President Mahmud Ahmadinejad.
Asadi was a supporter of former President Mohammad Khatami and warned of the "blatant disdain" of Iranian conservatives for human rights.
The semi-official ISNA news agency said Bagher Asadi, once a senior diplomat at Iran’s UN mission in New York and more recently a director at the secretariat of the so-called D8 group of developing nations in Istanbul, was arrested.
ISNA reported the incident could be a "misunderstanding."
Asadi is linked to the reformist movement in Iran.
Sources who were willing to comment to Western media under condition of anonymity said Asadi's arrest could be connected to the June 14 election to pick a successor to President Mahmud Ahmadinejad.
Asadi was a supporter of former President Mohammad Khatami and warned of the "blatant disdain" of Iranian conservatives for human rights.