Iran Urges Yemen's Further Efforts to Release Kidnapped Diplomat
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Senior Iranian and Yemeni foreign ministry officials discussed the latest development about the fate of an Iranian embassy staffer who has been abducted in Sana'a in July, 2013, and the Iranian side asked for more efforts by Yemen to help release the diplomat.
On July 21, a group of armed men kidnapped 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.
During a meeting held in Yemen on Tuesday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian and Yemen’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Abu Bakr Abdullah al-Qirbi held talks on the latest measures taken to free Nikbakht.
In late January, a decapitated body was found in central Yemen which was believed to belong to Nikbakht. However, Tehran denied reports that the body was the Iranian diplomat’s.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the visiting Iranian official touched upon Tehran-Sana’a ties, and described the bilateral relations as deep-rooted, age-old and cultural.
The Yemeni minister, for his part, emphasized that the abducted Iranian diplomat is in good health and expressed the hope that he would be freed and return home as soon as possible.
Qirbi went to say that his country’s officials attach great significance to the promotion of friendly ties with Iran and consider the relations as beneficial to the stability and security of Yemen and the entire region.