It is a lie, and I cannot say anything beyond that. It is a lie. Mr. Zarif knows it's a lie. Different people are trying to interpret it differently, that technically it's not a lie because he's talking about Jason Rezaian, and Jason Rezaian technically was not arrested because of his work as a journalist. But Mr. Zarif knows it's a lie. Everyone knows it's a lie, and unfortunately this is a regime that is being based on a lie. Even some of the supporters, they think that a white lie is a good thing if it's necessary to protect your interests.
On May 7th, 2015. See this statement in context.