Iran Rejects Arab Media Reports on Former Envoy's Visit to S. Arabia

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham dismissed as false some media reports that claimed the former ambassador to Lebanon, who is among the Iranians missing after a recent crush near Mecca, has travelled to Saudi Arabia incognito and on a fake visa.

In a statement on Monday, the Iranian spokeswoman described the reports by some Arab media outlets as “hasty and incorrect,” saying that they are pursuing certain political purposes.

The Al Arabiya TV claimed official records show that the name of the former Iranian ambassador to Lebanon Ghazanfar Roknabadi “does not appear among this year’s pilgrims”.

Afkham said that Roknabadi has gone on Hajj pilgrimage on his regular passport and that the Saudi authorities have precise information about all Iranian pilgrims, including Roknabadi.

There is no doubt about the former diplomat’s legal entry into Saudi Arabia, she added.

Roknabadi, who served as Iran’s ambassador to Beirut from 2010 to 2014, remains unaccounted for following the huge crush in Mina, Saudi Arabia, which killed hundreds of Hajj pilgrims last week.

About 2000 pilgrims died in the Thursday crush when performing religious rites. With the death toll rising, many pilgrims are still unaccounted for in the incident that marked the worst Hajj disaster in 25 years.

So far, 169 Iranian pilgrims have been pronounced dead and nearly 300 Iranians remain missing.



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