Wall Street Journal fires correspondent over ethics conflict

The Wall Street Journal has fired its chief foreign affairs correspondent after evidence emerged of his involvement in prospective commercial deals — including one involving arms sales to foreign governments — with an international businessman who was one of his key sources.

The reporter, Jay Solomon, was offered a 10 percent stake in a fledgling company, Denx LLC, by Farhad Azima, an Iranian-born aviation magnate who has ferried weapons for the CIA. It was not clear whether Solomon ever received money or formally accepted a stake in the company.

Azima was the subject of an Associated Press investigative article published Tuesday. During its investigation, the AP obtained emails and text messages between Azima and Solomon, as well as an operating agreement for Denx which listed an apparent stake for Solomon.