Iran Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham says the ministry is pursuing the fate of Abbas Yazdanpanah Yazdi, the Iranian citizen who went missing in the United Arab Emirates.
There have been conflicting reports over the past few months about the disappearance of Mr. Yazdanpanah who resided in the UAE, Afkham said.
The foreign ministry has submitted an official note to the UAE foreign ministry upon receiving the news, asking it to pursue his (Yazdanpanahs) case and to inform [Iran] about his fate.
The spokeswoman noted the ministry has also voiced serious concern about the fate of the missing Iranian citizen in a meeting with the UAE ambassador to Tehran.
Relatives and friends of the 44-year-old say he disappeared without a trace on June 25, when he was last seen leaving his office.
Reports accusing Iran of being involved in his (Yazdanpanahs) disappearance or murder is ridiculous and completely false. The individual in question was considered a very important witness in the Crescent [Petroleum]case, and his [testimony] would be in Irans interest, she said.
The foreign ministry is still pursuing the matter in line with its responsibilities and is concerned about his fate, Afkham added.
At the time of his disappearance, Yazdi had been giving evidence by video link to a long-running international arbitration tribunal at The Hague, involving the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and Crescent Petroleum, a privately owned oil and gas company with headquarters in Sharjah.
In August 2010, the NIOC cancelled its contract with the Crescent Petroleum to export natural gas to the UAE over pricing mechanism and some other technical issues.