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Jay Solomon Fired From Wall Street Journal Over Business Deal With Iranian Source

Wall Street Journal reporter Jay Solomon has been fired due to ethical concerns related to a planned business deal with an Iranian source, according to an AP report.

Solomon is said to have been “offered a 10 percent stake in a fledgling company by Farhad Azima, an Iranian-born aviation magnate who has ferried weapons for the CIA.” Azima was a source for Solomon, who led the WSJ’s coverage of the Iranian nuclear negotiations between 2012 and 2015, and who published a book on the subject in 2016.

Azima himself was the subject of an Associated Press investigative story published Tuesday, and his connections with Solomon were discovered over the course of the investigation.

The WSJ says it was “dismayed by the actions and poor judgment” of Solomon.

Solomon released this statement, denying business involvement with Azima:

Contact Jesse Bernstein at [email protected] or on Twitter @__jbernstein

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