Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon has called in Iran's top diplomat in Canada over the arrest of a Canadian journalist working in the country for Newsweek magazine.

Cannon will express his concern to Iran's charge d'affaires regarding the detention of reporter and filmmaker Maziar Bahari by security forces on Sunday evening, as well as about the violent crackdown on anti-government protesters.

Foreign Affairs spokesperson Andre Lemay also told the Canadian Press that Canadian consular officials in Tehran have requested immediate access to Bahari.

Bahari, who has been working in Tehran for Newsweek for the past decade, was taken from the home he shares with his mother around 7 a.m. by a number of security officers, according to a report on Newsweek.com.

Bahari's mother told the magazine that the men did not identify themselves before leaving with her son, his laptop and a number of videotapes.

Bahari, 41, has not been heard from since.

"Newsweek strongly condemns this unwarranted detention, and calls upon the Iranian government to release him immediately," the magazine said in a statement issued Sunday.

"Mr. Bahari's coverage of Iran, for Newsweek and other outlets, has always been fair and nuanced, and has given full weight to all sides of the issues."

In a statement issued Monday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper also called on Iranian authorities to "release all political prisoners and journalists -- including Canadians -- who have been unjustly detained," and to allow the media to "report freely" on the protests.

According to Reporters Without Borders, 33 journalists and bloggers have been arrested since Iran's June 12 national elections, which gave President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a landslide victory.

Supporters of reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, who alleges the election was rigged in the president's favour, have taken to the streets nearly every day since in massive demonstrations that have led to violent clashes with police and the pro-government Basij militia.

At least 17 people have been killed in the violence while hundreds more have been injured, according to official government reports.

In addition to violently suppressing protesters, the government has asked most foreign media to leave the country and has prevented Iranian journalists from attending the demonstrations.

"The force of the demonstrations in Tehran is increasing fears that more Iranian journalists could be arrested and more foreign journalists could be expelled," Reporters Without Borders said in a statement on its website. "The regime has been visibly shaken by its own population and does not want to let this perception endure. That is why the media have become a priority target."

Bahari is a dual Iranian-Canadian citizen and a well-known journalist in Iran.

He moved to Canada in 1988 to study film and political science. He got his degree at Montreal's Concordia University and he maintains a home in Toronto, according to Newsweek.

Bahari has made at least 10 documentary films in addition to writing a play, and often mentors young Iranian filmmakers.

He has also worked extensively in Iraq since the U.S. invasion in 2003.