Iran lifts ban on CNN

Iran has reversed its decision to impose a ban on CNN journalists after that country's president asked the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance to allow the network back in, according to Iran's official news agency.

According to CNN, the network was informed neither directly of the ban or of its lifting, instead learning of the decisions through Iran's official state news service, IRNA.

IRNA reported on Monday that CNN had been kicked out of the country over a mistranslation error during a press conference held by the Iranian president on Saturday. During that conference, an interpreter working for London-based Lesley Howard Languages broadcast that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that his country had the right to build nuclear weapons; instead, Ahmadinejad said that it had the right to use nuclear energy, adding "a nation that has civilization does not need nuclear weapons... our nation does not need them." CNN apologised on CNN/US, CNNI and CNN.com for the error, and Lesley Howard Languages said that they will "never" use the same interpreter again.