Iran: Ynet reporter not a spy
Yedioth Aharonoth's Orly Azoulay's visit to Iran ahead of nuclear deal sparked anger in Islamic Republic, but now an internal investigation concluded that despite outrage she was not a spy.
Luckily, a special inquiry commission ordered by the Iranian parliament has decided that "Orly Azoulay is not a spy."
Armed with a visa issued by the Iranian Foreign Ministry, and without making any efforts to conceal her identity, Azoulay went to Iran as part of a delegation organized by the New York Times - and was warmly welcomed by her hosts.
After leaving the country, she described her visit in a report published over the Passover holidays, telling of her time in Tehran, her visits to a synagogue in Isfahan and the tomb of Queen Esther in Hamedan, and various other experiences in the country.
The visit sparked outrage in the Islamic Republic. Mohammad Saleh Jokar, a member of the Iranian parliament who led the inquiry commission, now says that Iran should bar Israelis from visiting Iran.
Though she was not a spy, “we are asking for a ban on Israeli born people from entering Iran in order to prevent such cases,” Jokar said last Tuesday.
In response to the initial publication of Azoulay's article, the spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Hossein Nooshabadi, said she had "entered Iran on an American passport, she didn't have a press card and came in as a tourist, an American resident with an American group – the Foreign Ministry and intelligence services must therefore provide an answer."
