Iran Growing Impatient with Prolonged Release of Abducted Diplomat in Yemen

(FNA)- Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian stressed that Tehran's abducted diplomat, Nour-Ahmad Nikbakht, should be freed soon.

"A year after the abduction of the Iranian diplomat in Sana'a, I can confirm he is healthy, but say that the long process of his freedom is not acceptable," Amir Abdollhian said in an interview with the Islamic republic news agency on Monday.

Expressing confidence that the Yemeni security services are able to release Nikbakht, he said, "I appreciate the efforts made by the Yemeni political and security officials but we believe that the prolonged process of his freedom has grown ambiguous."

Unknown assailants abducted the Iranian embassy staff member, Nikbakht, in Safr Street in the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, in late July, 2013.

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.