Iran's government press office denied Yedioth Ahronoth correspondent Orly Azoulay visited Iran, while a leading Tehran daily accused her of coming to the country to "cause friction between election candidates."
The director of Iran's press office denied Azoulay actually visited the country, despite the reporter's detailed reporting and photographs featured in the Hebrew-language daily earlier this week.
But the official announcement was contradicted by the pro-government daily Jomhouri Eslami, which quoted a report in the London-based Asharq al-Awsat newspaper accusing the reporter of fostering "friction" between opposing camps in Iran.
The newspaper also reported Azoulay is an Israeli who entered Iran on an American passport, and said she interviewed the advisor to election candidate and former president Hashemi Rafsanjani, who said Iran could eventually re-establish diplomatic ties with Israel.
The second round of Iranian presidency elections is scheduled for Friday between Rafsanjani, considered a moderate, and radical candidate Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
