A journalist for an Iranian news website says its editor has been arrested after reporting that there is an audiotape of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad discussing vote rigging in his disputed 2009 re-election.

Ahmadinejad’s office strongly denied last month’s report on the Baztab website, and so far, no audiotape has surfaced.

The president’s supporters claim the purported tape was an attempt to undermine Ahmadinejad’s attempts to get his protege on the June 14 presidential ballot that will pick his successor.

The journalist, Ammar Kalantari, said Monday that editor Ali Ghazali was arrested on Sunday.

The Baztab report said that Ahmadinejad did not want authorities to boost his vote total in 2009, but that the vote-rigging was done anyway.

AP