Iran suspends accreditation for Reuters in Tehran

A young boy stands behind a flag as he and his mother, supporters of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, wait for his arrival at Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport May 5, 2010, after his trip to attend the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

LONDON (Reuters) - The Iranian government has suspended the press accreditation for Reuters staff in Tehran after the publication of a video story on women's martial arts training which contained an error.

Reuters, the news arm of Thomson Reuters, the global news and information group, corrected the story after the martial arts club where the video was filmed made a complaint.

The story's headline, "Thousands of female Ninjas train as Iran's assassins", was corrected to read "Three thousand women Ninjas train in Iran".

Iran's Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance subsequently contacted the Reuters Tehran bureau chief about the video and its publication, as a result of which Reuters' 11 personnel were told to hand back their press cards.

"We acknowledge this error occurred and regard it as a very serious matter. It was promptly corrected the same day it came to our attention," said editor-in-chief Stephen J. Adler.

"In addition, we have conducted an internal review and have taken appropriate steps to prevent a recurrence," he said.

Adler said that Reuters was in discussions with Iranian authorities in an effort to restore the accreditation.

"Reuters always strives for the highest standards in journalism and our policy is to acknowledge errors honestly and correct them promptly when they occur," he added.

(Writing by Peter Millership)