Riyadh tight-lipped about missing Iran researcher

Nearly four months after the disappearance of an Iranian Umrah pilgrim in Saudi Arabia, Riyadh still refuses to take an official stance on the issue.

In June, Shahram Amiri, a researcher at Tehran's Malek Ashtar University, went missing on the third day of his trip to Saudi Arabia for the Umrah Hajj.

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.

Despite Iran's call on the Saudi government to provide a 'clear' response, Riyadh is yet to officially adopt a stance on the issue.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hassan Qashqavi said in September that 'according to consulate conventions, Saudi Arabia is responsible for the fate of the Iranian pilgrim.'

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has said the US is also accountable for the disappearance of the pilgrim.

"We have found documents that prove US interference in the disappearance of the Iranian pilgrim Shahram Amiri in Saudi Arabia," Mottaki told reporters after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey D. Feltman denied any US involvement in the disappearance of the Iranian pilgrim.

The mystery still surrounds the issue while several media reports have speculated that Saudi's intelligence and the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) have colluded in the disappearance.

The reports cite Amiri's cooperation as a researcher with Iran's nuclear work as the reason behind the disappearance.

His wife however has dismissed the reports, saying that he was 'only a researcher and did not hold any government posts.'

"His research was in the field of physics as it was his specialized subject," she said, adding that since he reached Saudi Arabia, 'the Saudi government must be held responsible for his disappearance.'

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=108545§ionid=351020101.