Washington Bureau Chief Paul Beckett made the announcement to staff during a hastily called meeting on Wednesday after meeting with senior editors in New York the day before. Beckett did not elaborate on Solomon’s situation, only to say that an upcoming Associated Press investigation would have more details. Minutes later, that story hit the bureau like a bombshell: Solomon had been fired, the AP reported, 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.” 
 
 According to the report, Solomon had been offered a 10 percent stake in a new company by an Iranian-born aviation magnate named Farhad Azima. (Jill Toyoshiba/The Kansas City Star via AP) 
 
 “We are dismayed by the actions and poor judgment of Jay Solomon,” the Journal said in a statement. “The allegations raised by this reporting are serious. While our own investigation continues, we have concluded that Mr. Solomon violated his ethical obligations as a reporter, as well as our standards. He has not been forthcoming with us about his actions or his reporting practices and he has forfeited our trust. Mr. Solomon is no longer employed by The Wall Street Journal.” 
 
 Solomon is no slouch. Solomon’s involvement was unearthed as part of an AP investigation into Azima, in which the AP obtained a "collection of tens of thousands of emails his lawyers say was stolen by hackers,” which included conversations between Azima and Solomon. [From AP: ‘Worth killing over’: How a plane mogul dodged U.S. scrutiny] 
 
 In April 2015, the AP reported Wednesday, Azima wrote to Solomon about a possible $725 million contract with the United Arab Emirates, in which he asked the reporter to bring the proposal to a UAE government representative he was lunching with the following day. “We all wish best of luck to Jay on his first defense sale,” Azima wrote in an email also sent to Solomon, according to the AP. In one particularly suspect instance from October 2014, Solomon texted Azima: “Our business opportunities are so promising.” 
 
 On Wednesday, Solomon expressed regrets for his actions while at the same time insisting that things weren’t quite as bad as they may look. But in a statement to the AP, he said he "clearly made mistakes in my reporting and entered into a world I didn’t understand.” 
 
 “I never entered into any business with Farhad Azima, nor did I ever intend to. But I understand why the emails and the conversations I had with Mr. Azima may look like I was involved in some seriously troubling activities. I apologize to my bosses and colleagues at the Journal, who were nothing but great to me.” 
 
 Hours after the sudden all-staff meeting, Journal employees were still coming to grips with what this all means.
– A Wall Street Journal reporter was fired Wednesday over potential business dealings with an Iranian-born arms dealer. The Washington Post reports Jay Solomon, chief foreign affairs correspondent for the Journal, had received Pulitzer consideration and was well-liked by the paper's editor in chief. His shocking termination springs from an AP investigation into Farhad Azima, who Solomon used as a source for stories. Azima, who has dealt weapons to multiple nations and was tied to the Iran-contra affair, offered Solomon a 10% stake in a company called Denx. While it's unclear if Solomon ever accepted that stake, the AP uncovered 18 months of emails and texts between Solomon and Azima discussing business together. In 2014, Solomon texted Azima: "Our business opportunities are so promising." The following year, Azima wished Solomon luck "on his first defense sale" in regards to delivering a proposal to UAE representatives. Also in 2015, there was talk of Denx being involved in an effort to bring down the government of Kuwait, though Solomon denies any knowledge of that. "Mr. Solomon violated his ethical obligations as a reporter, as well as our standards," Politico quotes a statement from the Journal as saying. The newspaper says it was "dismayed" by Solomon's actions and "poor judgement." Solomon, while denying ever getting into business with Azima, says he understands "why the emails and the conversations I had with Mr. Azima may look like I was involved in some seriously troubling activities."