The daily newspaper Etemaad reported Saturday that an Iranian-American reporter had been under arrest for a month but did not provide a name. Iranian authorities have not confirmed Ms. Saberi’s arrest, and the section of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance for the foreign news media, which gives press credentials to reporters, was unaware of her arrest until Sunday. Her arrest comes at a time of increasing pressure before presidential elections in June, during which at least two pro-reform candidates will be running against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Government forces cracked down on hundreds of protesting students at Amirkabir University last week and arrested nearly 70, newspapers reported. The students protested the burial of “unknown martyrs” from the Iran-Iraq war on the campus. About 40 detainees were released, but the rest were transferred to the country’s notorious Evin prison.
