US detention of Press TV anchor 'illegal': Iran

Iran's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said that the recent detention of an anchor of Iran's Press TV by the US FBI is "illegal". The announcement was made as the ministry delivered Iran's protest note over the detention of Marzieh Hashemi, a Press TV journalist and news presenter, to the summoned Swiss ambassador to Iran.

Hashemi, who has been living in Iran for years, was detained by the FBI at the international airport in St. Louis, Missouri, on January 13 while making a family visit, Xinhua news agency reported. A federal US court order confirmed on Friday that she was arrested on a "material witness" warrant and has not been accused of any crime.

On Tuesday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry handed over an official note to the Swiss ambassador in protest of the US detention and "inhumane and discriminatory" behaviour toward the Press TV journalist and asked for her "immediate and unconditional" release. Diplomatic relations between Iran and the US were severed in 1979, after which the US appointed Switzerland to protect its interests in Iran.