Yemen is responsible for safety of abducted diplomat

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Araqchi said on Monday that the Yemeni government is responsible for the safety of the Iranian diplomat who was kidnapped in Sanaa on Sunday, demanding Sanaa to make every effort to secure his release.
The Iranian diplomat, Nour-Ahmad Nikbakht, was travelling through the diplomatic quarter in southern Sanaa when gunmen blocked the road, forced him to get out of his vehicle and took him to an unknown location.

Araqchi told the Mehr News Agency that the Foreign Ministry is seriously pursuing the case, expressing hope that the efforts would yield good results.

Also, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian called on the Yemeni government to take serious steps to identify those behind the abduction.

Amir-Abdollahian said following a telephone conversation between Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi and his Yemeni counterpart Abu-Bakr Al-Qirbi on Sunday, Yemen’s Foreign Ministry has set up a task group to pursue the release of the Iranian diplomat.

On Sunday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Yemeni charge d’affaires to convey Tehran’s concerns over the issue.