Iranian authorities have told a British journalist working for AFP in Iran to leave without giving an explanation, the French news agency said in a report.

Stuart Williams, AFP's deputy bureau chief in Tehran, had worked in the country for two years and held a renewable resident's permit which was valid until Aug. 28, AFP reported. AFP said he was told on Monday that he must leave within days.

In Tehran, an Iranian official confirmed Williams had been asked to leave but did not give further details.

'This is clearly an unjustified expulsion, which we deeply regret,' AFP director of information Denis Hiault said, adding that the agency wanted to 'continue covering Iranian news with the same objectivity'.

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