[caption id="attachment_92908" align="alignright" width="180"] Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian[/caption]
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian confirmed that the country's diplomat, Nour-Ahmad Nikbakht who was abducted in the Yemeni capital in July 2013 is safe and sound.


"The Iranian diplomat who was abducted in Sana'a last July is in good health and efforts to secure his release are underway," Amir Abdollahian said.

Noting that Yemeni officials are seriously pursuing the release of Nikbakht, he added that Iran “has now come closer” to  releasing its abducted diplomat.

On Saturday, Deputy Foreign Minister for Consular, Parliamentary and Iranian Expatriates' Affairs Hassan Qashqavi announced that the Yemeni authorities have identified the kidnappers of Nikbakht.

"The Yemeni officials have announced that the people or streams who have abducted Nikbakht have been identified and his place and other details have also been found, and we are pursuing the case," Qashqavi told FNA.

"If the conditions are ripe, a delegation headed by Amir Abdollahian will most likely be sent to Yemen to pursue the case," he added.

Qashqavi took the Yemeni government responsible for the health of Nikbakht, and expressed the hope that Sana'a would make more efforts to secure his freedom.

Unknown assailants abducted the Iranian embassy staff member, Nikbakht, in Safr Street in the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, in late July.

In October, Iran called on Yemeni parliamentarians to seriously pursue the case with its abducted diplomat and shed light on his fate.

During a meeting with a visiting Yemeni parliamentary delegation in Tehran at the time, Amir Abdollahian noted that the Iranian officials, media, and public opinion are awaiting the official results of Yemen’s probe into the abduction case.

He further hailed the efforts exerted by the Yemeni government to ensure the release of Nikbakht, and called for more serious efforts of the Yemeni officials to this end.

The Iranian official stated that negotiations with Yemeni security and political officials are underway over the case, and the abducted Iranian diplomat would be hopefully reunited with his family in the near future.

By Fars News Agency

 

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