Al Jazeera crew thrown out

Abu Dhabi: An Al Jazeera television crew were thrown out of a press conference held by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Abu Dhabi on Monday, a correspondent from the news channel said.

Iranian officials ordered the team from the Arabic-language Al Jazeera and its sister channel Al Jazeera English to leave the hall in Emirates Palace Hotel ahead of the press conference, Mohammad Abdullah told Gulf News

Abdullah said two days ago, Iranian officials had rejected an Al Jazeera request to cover the conference. ‘However,' Abdallah said, ‘The UAE National Media Council negotiated with the Iranian side, and provided us with technical and administrative facilities to allow Al Jazeera to cover the conference.'

Abdullah said that just before the conference was held officials from the Iranian delegation told Al Jazeera's team that they must leave the hall.

A member of the Iranian delegation said Iran's parliament has ordered a ban on dealing with Al Jazeera due to its offence to Iraq's highest religious authority Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani.

The Doha-based station was banned from parliament last week after it broadcast a talk show Iran deemed insulting to Sistani.

Al Jazeera said it regretted Iran's decision, expressing hope it would not lead to a complete ban on its activities in the country, and stressed its policy of "respecting religious and public figures".

Abdullah said no such incident has ever happened in the UAE to Al Jazeera and that the channel's team was allowed to cover a press conference held by Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, last year.