Mottaki: US behind abduction of Iran nationals

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Mottaki: US behind abduction of Iran nationals

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Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki

Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has said the United States is involved in the abduction of several Iranian nationals in Europe and the Middle East.

"The US should be accountable as it is directly and indirectly responsible for causing problems for Shahram Amiri, Alireza Asgari and Ardebili," Mottaki said on Wednesday.

Amiri was kidnapped in Saudi Arabia, Asgari went missing in Turkey and Ardebili was abducted in Georgia, the foreign minister said.

Amiri, a researcher at Tehran's Malek Ashtar University, went missing after he traveled to Saudi Arabia for the Umrah Hajj (a shortened version of the major hajj pilgrimage) in June.

According to his wife, the missing pilgrim has not contacted his family except for a few phone calls he made at the beginning of his trip.

Former deputy defense minister Alireza Asgari, 45, retired from office two years ago. He was on a business trip to Syria and then Turkey, where he checked in at the Hotel Ceyran in Istanbul on December 7, 2007. He disappeared two days later.

Mottaki further referred to the illegal detention of Iranian diplomats in Iraq by the US for a lengthy period of time.

"The United States has a very bad and indefensible record in its relations with Iran," the Iranian foreign minister added.

In January 2007, US troops stormed the Iranian consulate in the northern Kurdish city of Arbil, seizing the consulate's computers, documents and staff, including five diplomats.

Two diplomats were later released. The three remaining diplomats were released in July 2009 after two and a half years in prison, in line with the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the US and Iraq.

HRF/SC/AKM