Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman says Iranian diplomat taken hostage in Europe to return home soon

Spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Nasser Kanaani said Assadollah Assadi, the Iranian diplomat who was taken hostage, will return home in the upcoming hours, following five years of suffering in captivity.

Spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Nasser Kanaani said Assadollah Assadi, the Iranian diplomat who was taken hostage, will return home in the upcoming hours, following five years of suffering in captivity.

Kanaani said Assadollah Assadi had been taken hostage in Germany on June 30, 2018 as part of a plot by the Zionist regime, with some European security services serving as agents. 

The spokesman said the Zionist-American scenario of the “Big Lie” aimed at creating a crisis in the relations between Iran and Europe was revealed, adding that this conspiracy was hatched right after the unilateral withdrawal of the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

In this regard, some European governments were influenced by the Zionist regime and the hypocritical MKO terrorist group, and after the “arbitrary arrest” of the Iranian diplomat in violation of international regulations, they sentenced him to 20 years in jail in a theatrical, completely political and doctored court trial, he said.

The official said from the beginning, the Islamic Republic of Iran spared no efforts to secure the release of this Iranian citizen and diplomat by adopting logical positions and defending the rights of Iranians, while voicing protest and condemning the violation of Assadi’s diplomatic immunity.

Ultimately, following consecutive joint security meetings and consultations between the foreign ministers of Iran and Belgium, the freedom of this hostage diplomat was secured through a bilateral agreement with the Belgian government, Kanaani added.