Diplomat abducted in Sana’a unscathed: Iran FM

Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the Iranian diplomat abducted in the Yemeni capital of Sana’a last July is safe and sound.

“Experts at [Iran’s] Foreign Ministry are seriously following the situation of [the kidnapped administrative staff member of the Iranian Embassy in Sana’a] Nour Ahmad Nikbakht and according to the latest information, he is healthy,” Zarif said on Tuesday.

He expressed hope that the abducted Iranian diplomat would return to the country as soon as possible.

Zarif added that pursuing the diplomat’s case is among the main priorities of Iran’s Foreign Ministry.

On July 21, 2013, Nikbakht was on his way to work from his home in the diplomatic quarter of Sana’a when unidentified gunmen blocked the road, forced him out of his vehicle and abducted him.

The Iranian foreign minister held a phone conversation with his Yemeni counterpart Abu Bakr Abdullah al-Qirbi last December, calling on Sana’a to utilize all the means at its disposal to secure the safe return of the Iranian diplomat.

In late January, a decapitated body was found in central Yemen which was reported to belong to Nikbakht. However, Tehran denied the reports.

A Yemeni security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters on Sunday that the Iranian Embassy official is “still alive.”

“Contacts with the Iranian diplomat’s kidnappers through tribal mediators confirm that he [the diplomat] is still alive,” the security official added.

Yemen’s charge d’affaires to Tehran Abdullah Ali al-Seri also said on Sunday that the kidnapped Iranian diplomat is alive and in good health.

The Yemeni official emphasized that Yemen’s Interior Ministry and security forces are responsible for investigating Nikbakht’s fate.