Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi said on Sunday that Iran has freed a Greek reporter working for the U.S. Washington Times, the local ISNA news agency reported.

"The Greek Iason (Athanasiadis-Fowden) who was working for a U.S. media and was arrested by police for activities ... in connection with the recent street riots ... was freed today," Qashqavi was quoted as saying.

"Due to the obvious irregularities of this reporter, his press card has been canceled by the officials," he said.

According to ISNA, the reporter once had entered Iran with a British passport and it was his second attempt this time.

In June, Iran arrested the reporter who, as the General Director of Iran's Guidance Ministry's foreign media department, Mohsen Mogaddaszadeh said, had "traveled to Iran for different journalistic activities several times."

Earlier, Iran banned foreign journalists from covering the street protests against Iran's presidential election result in Tehran.

Iran has attributed the unrest to the plots cultivated by the Western countries.

(Xinhua News Agency July 6, 2009)