June 21 - Iran on Sunday ordered the BBC correspondent, Jon Leyne, to leave the country within 24 hours for his agency's distortion of realities and news on Iran's elections.

Bureau of Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance said in a statement Sunday, "In view of the function and performance of BBC in distorting and changing realities on Iran's elections, Jon Leyne, the permanent correspondent of the network was expelled."

The statement, a copy of which was made available to IRNA, also charges BBC of supporting and indirectly inciting and provoking rioters to continue sabotaging public and private properties over the past days.

Efforts to wrongly influence public opinion by using media tactics and psychological war as well as dispatching false and unreal news, and illegal use of certain domestic people in line with goals of the network have been cited as among the other reasons for the expulsion of the BBC correspondent.

The Ministry's Press Bureau said Leyne had also been summoned to be informed of Iran's strong protest over the deceitful conduct of BBC which is taken as blatant intervention in Iran's internal affairs.

The press release said that Leyne has also been informed that if British radio and TV institutes continue to broadcast false and untrue reports on Iran and interfere in Iran's domestic affairs or violate international journalistic morals, more serious measures will be taken.