Afkham: Roknoabadi used regular passport for Hajj trip

Former Iranian ambassador to Lebanon Ghazanfar Roknabadi traveled to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj pilgrimage on a regular passport, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said in response to claims by some Arab media.

Her comments came in reaction to allegations by some Arab media that Roknabadi traveled through unofficial routes to Saudi Arabia under a fake name.

She said like all other Iranian pilgrims precise information about his passport is in possession of Saudi officials which removes any vague points about the his entry into Saudi Arabia territory.

Roknabadi’s passport bore a Hajj visa and like all other Iranian pilgrims who have gone missing in the Mina incident on Thursday, his information too has been handed to Saudi officials, she added.

She dismissed all fake news about the diplomat and said such propaganda served particular purposes.

A Saudi Arabian news website on Monday claimed that the ‘Iranian diplomat may have entered Saudi under an unknown identity.’

“Saudi sources told Al Arabiya News that official records show that the name of the former Iranian ambassador to Beirut Ghazanfar [Rokn]Abadi does not appear among this year’s pilgrims,” it said.

If his presence during the pilgrimage is confirmed, that would mean that he has entered the country by “unknown manners,” possibly registering under a different name, the network alleged.