The arrest of Russian reporter Yulia Yuzik is unrelated to espionage charges, TASS quoted Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei as saying on Monday. “This issue is unrelated to espionage,” he said. “As far as I am aware, she was detained due to visa issues.”

Yuzik, who had earlier worked as a journalist in Iran, reportedly flew to Tehran on Thursday and was detained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The Russian Embassy in Iran said Yuzik was arrested at a hotel in Tehran on October 2, adding that she did not address the diplomatic mission with concerns over her confiscated passport earlier.

The Kremlin expects that Yuzik will be released shortly, the Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Monday. “We deem the detention of Russian journalists inadmissible, and we hope that she will be released shortly, while the Russian side will get all necessary explanations,” he added.