Iran diplomat missing since Saudi hajj stampede found dead

Tehran had accused Gulf kingdom of kidnapping Ghazanfar Roknabadi because he had held sensitive government positions

By AP 26 November 2015, 6:05 pm

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Saudi emergency personnel stand near bodies of Hajj pilgrims at the site where at least 717 were killed and hundreds wounded in a stampede in Mina, near the city of Mecca, at the annual hajj in Saudi Arabia on September 24, 2015. (STR/AFP)

A senior Iranian diplomat missing since the Saudi hajj stampede in September has been found dead, sources in Iran said Thursday.

Tehran had accused Saudi Arabia of kidnapping Ghazanfar Roknabadi because he previously held sensitive positions for the Iranian government, such as the post of ambassador to Lebanon.

The daily IRNA newspaper reported Thursday that officials identified Roknabadi through fingerprints and a DNA test. Iranian state television said his body was exhumed in Mecca and would arrive in Iran on Saturday.

Iran, which lost 465 pilgrims in the September 24 stampede in Mina, repeatedly has blamed the Saudi government for the disaster, accusing it of mismanagement.

An Associated Press count shows at least 2,389 people died in the crush. The official Saudi toll of 769 people killed has not changed since September 26.