[caption id="attachment_38163" align="alignright" width="210"] File photo shows an al-Qaeda militant in Yemen.[/caption]
TEHRAN (ISNA)- Iranian charge d'affaires in Sana'a stressed Yemeni government's responsibility in releasing and pursuing the fate of an Iranian diplomat kidnapped in the Arab country.
Morteza Abedini in a meeting with Yemeni Interior Minister Abdul Qader Qahtan in Yemen, emphasized the adverse physical condition of Nour Ahmad Nikbakht -- the kidnapped administrative staff member at the Iranian Embassy in the Yemeni capital Sana'a, and said the diplomat needs to take his medicines continuously.

He urged the Yemeni government to secure his release as soon as possible.

Qahtan, for his part, expressed the hope that the Iranian diplomat would be released and go home in the coming days.

Following a phone conversation between Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi and his Yemeni counterpart Abu Bakr al-Qirbi on Sunday, Yemeni Foreign Ministry has set up a task group to pursue the case, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Countries Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said earlier.

During the phone conversation, Salehi further reminded al-Qirbi that under international treaties and conventions, the host country is responsible for the safety of diplomats.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Yemeni charge d'affaires to Tehran on Sunday to convey the Islamic Republic's serious concern over the fate of the kidnapped Iranian diplomat and to reiterate the responsibility of Sana'a in guaranteeing Nikbakht's safety.

Police sources in Yemen reportedly stated on Sunday that unknown gunmen had kidnapped Nikbakht.

The Iranian diplomat was traveling in the diplomatic quarter in southern Sana'a when armed men blocked the road, forced him to get out of his vehicle and took him to an unknown location.

By ISNA

 

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