A British-Greek journalist jailed for two weeks in the midst of the unrest caused by Iran’s disputed election has been released, Tehran said today.

Iason Athanasiadis-Fowden, also known as James Fowden, who was reporting for the Washington Times, is thought to have been the only foreigner detained by the regime during the crackdown.

The authorities have banned the foreign media from covering events organised by opposition groups in the Islamic Republic. Mr Athanasiadis-Fowden's release was attributed to “goodwill” efforts made by the Iranian ambassador in Athens.

“[Athanasiadis-Fowden] who worked for an American media company and who was arrested for activities that were contradictory to journalism and in connection with the recent street riots was freed today,” Hassan Ghashghavi, a foreign ministry spokesman, said. The journalist’s press credentials will now be cancelled.

In a separate development, David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, said that an eighth Iranian employee of the British embassy in Tehran will be released later today, leaving only one member of staff in custody.

“There have been developments overnight in respect of the eighth person who had been arrested,” Mr Miliband said.

“I spoke to our ambassador on our daily call last night and the good news is that he was told by the (Iranian) deputy foreign minister that the eighth person would indeed be released today, that the papers have been signed and that there would not be a court process or charges.

“That leaves one more in custody and all of our efforts are now directed towards getting that person out,” he said.

The last-remaining staffer is reported to be Hossein Rassam, a political analyst and close confidant of the ambassador, Simon Gass. He was arrested last Saturday at his home.

Mr Miliband said the international community is united in its opposition towards “intimidation” from Tehran, which arrested a total of nine local embassy staff on June 28.

On Friday, EU member states summoned Iranian ambassadors in their capitals in protest at the detention of the Iranians working for the British embassy, who do not enjoy diplomatic immunity.

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