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Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has appealed to the organizers of a UN food summit after an accredited reporter for the U.S.-funded broadcaster's Persian-language service was denied entry to the event in Rome.

The reporter, Ahmad Rafat, says he was forced to surrender his accreditation to the World Food Security Summit, which is being held at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) headquarters.

The Iranian-born Rafat is based in Rome and is a regular correspondent for Radio Farda, a joint venture between RFE/RL and Voice of America that broadcasts to Iran.

He said he was told by Italian guards that he had been declared persona non grata and that a security officer had "made it understood that this was because of pressure [by] a foreign delegation."