The Iranian charge d'affaires in Yemen has urged Sana'a to take serious measures to secure the release of an Iranian diplomat recently abducted in the Arab country, Press TV reported.
In a meeting with Yemeni Interior Minister Abdul Qader Qahtan on Saturday, Morteza Abedini said that the Yemeni government is responsible for the safety of Nour Ahmad Nikbakht -- the kidnapped administrative staff member at the Iranian Embassy in the Yemeni capital Sana'a.
Abedini pointed to Nikbakht's medical condition and his need to use certain medication and urged the Yemeni government to secure his release as soon as possible.
Following a phone conversation between Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi and his Yemeni counterpart Abu Bakr al-Qirbi on Sunday, Yemen's Foreign Ministry has set up a task group to pursue the case, 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 travelling 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.