Tehran: Emirati Diplomat Summoned over Iranian Citizen's Death

“The Foreign Ministry is seriously pursuing the case of the Iranian citizen, Seyed Ali Hosseini’s death under the arrest of the Emirati security officials,” Marziyeh Afkham, the foreign ministry spokeswoman said on Saturday.

Afkham added that the caretaker of the Emirati embassy was summoned to the Foreign Ministry in the absence of the country’s ambassador and he was informed of Iran’s serious objection.

“Following the broadcasting or media reports on the arrest of three Iranian citizens by Emirati security officials during the past two weeks, our country’s representative office in Emirates sent notes to that country’s Foreign Ministry and asked for consular access to those people in accordance with international conventions,” she said.

Afkham added the Iranian Foreign Ministry has also sent a representative to Emirate to study the issue, and a technical research team, too, would soon be sent there for further inquiries.

Media reports had earlier suggested that three suspects have been detained in connection with the kidnapping of Abbas Yazdanpanah in the UAE.

Reports indicated that Yazdanpanah, born in 1969, is a British passport holder of Iranian origin and the owner of a publicly traded company.

Relatives and friends of the 44-year-old say he disappeared without a trace on June 25, when he was last seen leaving his office.

At the time of his disappearance, Yazdanpanah had allegedly been giving evidence by video link to a long-running international arbitration tribunal case at The Hague, involving the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and Crescent Petroleum, a privately owned oil and gas company with headquarters in Sharjah, Press TV reported.

In August 2010, the NIOC cancelled its contract with the Crescent Petroleum to export natural gas to the UAE over the pricing mechanism and some other technical issues.