Group: Iran arrests reporter amid unrest over tower collapse

By ISABEL DEBRE
Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An international press watchdog says Iranian authorities arrested a local journalist at a ceremony for the victims of a catastrophic building collapse in the southwestern city of Abadan. The death toll from the disaster rose to 37 on Wednesday. It has provoked a national outpouring of grief and outrage, adding to mounting political and economic crises facing the Islamic Republic. Talks to restore Tehran’s tattered nuclear deal are deadlocked and the Iranian currency tumbled in value on Wednesday to its lowest level ever against the dollar. Iranian authorities have repeatedly dispersed demonstrations and disrupted internet access as traditional mourning ceremonies over the Metropol Building collapse in Abadan have turned into angry protests.