Saudi Diplomat Left Tehran After Judiciary Procedure

Tehran, Oct 30, IRNA – An informed official at Iranian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday Saudi diplomat whose driving led to death of an Iranian citizen had left Iran on October 27 after going through judiciary procedure, and not expelled. The informed source added that the Saudi Embassy, too, two days later informed the Foreign Ministry in a letter that as the period of that diplomat’s service in Iran had been over, they were returning his documents attached to the letter to the Foreign Ministry. He said that the news on the expelling of the Saudi diplomat were baseless. An Iranian lawmaker had earlier on Tuesday said that the Saudi diplomat responsible for the deadly drunk driving accident in Tehran had been expelled from Iran, and indemnity had been paid to the victims’ families. A member of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Mehdi Davatgari had said on Tuesday that the Saudi diplomat was recognized as persona non grata and expelled 20 days ago. The MP added that the Saudi Embassy in Tehran has paid compensation to the families of the crash victims. Davatgari also called on the Saudi Judiciary to investigate the charges that the diplomat was drunk driving and had bottles of alcoholic beverages in his car when he had the fatal accident, and then to brief the Iranian officials on the results of their probe. On March 18, an intoxicated Saudi diplomat killed an Iranian driver and injured a passer-by in a car accident in Tehran. The Saudi diplomat rammed his vehicle into the Iranian car before veering off the road, killing the Iranian driver on the spot. Four bottles of alcoholic beverages were found in the Saudi diplomat’s car. The cause of the accident was exceeding the speed limit and driving under the influence of alcohol. Former spokesman of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Ramin Mehmanparast, had said on March 19 that the Foreign Ministry was pursuing the matter via judicial and diplomatic channels and that Tehran had strongly protested to the guilty diplomats behavior. Mehmanparast had announced the cause of the accident as violation of Iranian laws, exceeding the speed limit and driving under the influence./end