Ali Akbar Salehi said retired members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and army were among the 48 Iranians who were on a religious pilgrimage to Damascus when taken hostage by insurgents
As he flew back from Turkey, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said retired members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards and army were among
the 48 Iranians who were on a religious pilgrimage to Damascus when taken hostage by insurgents.
ISNA news agency reported that Salehi was quoted as saying that those former military personnel were exclusively on a religious pilgrimage to Damascus when they were seized on Saturday. "A number of the (hostages) are retired members of the Guards and the army. Some others were from other ministries," Salehi told reporters.
On Sunday, Syrian insurgents posted a video of the hostages and claimed they were members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards on a "reconnaissance mission." Tehran denied the charge.
"Fortunately, in the video clip that was broadcast of these people, we see that these people are pilgrims and have no equipment other than clothes, personal items and identification cards," Salehi was quoted as saying. He said the 48 abducted were in one of three buses taking Iranians to the airport in Damascus on Saturday. "There were three buses, two of which reached the airport," he said.
On Tuesday, Salehi sent a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon calling on the United Nations to act immediately to obtain the release of the Iranian nationals abducted in Syria and Libya.
"The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran calls for the immediate release of its abducted nationals and is of the view that using the hostages as human shields violates… international law and (the) human rights of these innocent civilians," Salehi said. “I would like to seek the cooperation and the good offices of Your Excellency for securing the release of these hostages,” he added.
A UN spokesman confirmed that the letter had been received but did not offer an immediate response.
In Turkey, the Iranian FM asked for Ankara’s assistance in efforts to obtain the release of the Iranian nationals abducted in Syria.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said during the meeting that he feels like the abducted Iranians are citizens of his own country and pledged to do his utmost to obtain their release. He also noted that Iran and Turkey have close ties and common interests.
