Iran Calls on Yemen to Ensure Release of Kidnapped Diplomat
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian foreign minister reiterated that the onus is on the Yemeni government to release Nour Ahmad Nikbakht, an Iranian embassy staffer abducted in Sana'a some months ago.
In a meeting with his Yemeni counterpart Abu Bakr Abdallah al-Qirbi in New York on Saturday evening, Mohammad Javad Zarif urged the Arab country to step up efforts and adopt appropriate measures to find and release the Iranian embassy staffer who has been held hostage since July this year.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 68th UN General Assembly in New York.
The Yemeni minister, for his part, elaborated on measures his country has taken in this regard and pledged more efforts for the release of the Iranian diplomat.
On July 21, a group of armed men kidnapped Iranian Embassy staff member Nour Ahmad Nikbakht in Yemeni capital of Sana'a at gunpoint, and took him to an unknown location.
No group has claimed responsibility for the abduction and the officials at the Iranian foreign ministry are working with Yemeni government to locate and release him.
In August, Iran’s Foreign Ministry dispatched a delegation to Sana’a in order to pursue the fate of the abducted Iranian diplomat there.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry has so far summoned the Yemeni chargé d'affaires twice to relay Tehran's grave concern over the fate of the diplomat and to remind Sana’a that it is responsible for Nikbakht’s safety and release.
