TEHRAN (FNA)- Former Iranian Commerce Minister and current Chairman of the parliament�s Energy Commission Massoud Mir-Kazzemi rejected the British media claims that blame Tehran for the missing of a British businessman of Iranian origin, Abbas Yazdi who was the main witness in a major legal case.
Abbas Yazdanpanah Yazdi, 44, a father-of-two and a naturalized British national, was last seen on the afternoon of Tuesday 25 June leaving his office in Bur Dubai, the commercial heart of the thriving Gulf state.

He had just finished giving evidence by video-link to a long running international arbitration tribunal in The Hague involving the United Arab Emirates-based Crescent Petroleum and the National Iranian Oil Company. There is no suggestion that Yazdi's involvement in the arbitration is connected with his disappearance.

Yazdi had been due to return to complete his testimony the following day. He never reappeared. Mr Yazdi's private business records were seized by Serious Fraud Office (SFO) at the request of Norwegian authorities investigating allegations of bribery, but no charges were brought against him. His wife, Atena, claimed in an interview with the BBC that he has been kidnapped by Iranian intelligence officers and taken to Iran.

Yazdi has enjoyed privileged access to certain Iranian politicians. A close childhood friend was Mehdi Hashemi Rafsanjani, son of former president Ayatollah Rafsanjani, who lived in Britain for three years after 2009.

Speaking in an interview with FNA, senior Iranian MP Massoud Mir-Kazzemi whose commission is directly involved in the legal case, commented on the British media allegations about Iran's involvement in Yazdi's disappearance, and rejected the claim, reminding that his testimony came to be in favor of Iran.

�They (British media) claim that some people in Iran could lose interests if Mr. Abbas Yazdi remained alive. Now they should be asked who are these people who would lose their interests based on the British�s claims?� Mir-Kazzemi told FNA on Monday.

He said that the Iranian government needed Yazdi for finish his testimony at the court to exonerate Tehran in Crescent�s case, so his disappearance would be a loss for Iran.

�(When) Britain claims that the Iranians have relations with the case (Yazdi�s missing) it should announce that who has done that?� he complained, slamming the British media for propagating unsubstantiated allegations.

By Fars News Agency

 

The Iran Project is not responsible for the content of quoted articles.