Bahman Tutunchi was arrested Tuesday morning at his home in Sanandaj in Kordestan province, the reformist Kargozaran paper said, quoting a family member.

"The officials were silent when we questioned them on the reason for his arrest and where he would be taken. They did not even allow him to change out of his pyjamas or pick up his glasses," an unnamed relative said.

Tutunchi is an independent journalist and had been a member of the editorial board of the weekly "Kereftoo" until he was forced to resign last year before the publication was closed, the report said.

Under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iranian media including newspapers, news websites and agencies of all political persuasions, have been hit by a string of closures.

Several Kurdish activists, including women's rights campaigners, have been arrested in recent years on security charges.

Earlier this month Iran's appeals court confirmed an 11-year jail term for Kurdish rights activist and journalist Mohammad Sadigh Kaboudvand after he was convicted of acting against national security.