Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast has rejected reports that the country’s Foreign Minister Dr. Ali Akbar Salehi had been briefly detained in Cyprus.

Citing Cypriot media, the Turkish television channel TRT Turk earlier alleged that the Iranian foreign minister had been detained at the airport of Larnaca in Cyprus on Tuesday.

The false report alleged that Salehi had been detained because his name was on the EU sanctions list, but he had been quickly released.

Cypriot authorities have now extended their apologies for the misinformation regarding the senior Iranian official.

The fabricated report is yet another manifestation of the seemingly interminable campaign by Western media aimed at tarnishing the image of Iranian authorities and portraying the Islamic Republic in a negative light.

irna/281