Saudi releases Iran man arrested over Qassem Soleimani’s picture

Riyadh

: The authorities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia released the Iranian pilgrim, Khalil Dardmand, who was arrested during the Haj pilgrimage in July, because of the picture of the martyr Qassem Soleimani, the Anadolu Agency reported.

Khalil Dardmand, was arrested in mid-July for allegedly posting a picture of slain Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani near the Kaaba on Twitter.

More than two years ago, Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force, was killed in an airstrike by American forces in Baghdad, and American officials called him a terrorist after this attack.

The Foreign Ministers of Iraq and the Sultanate of Oman announced to the Iranian Foreign Minister the release of Khalil.

This came during two separate phone calls made by Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein and Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al-Busaidi with Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amir Abdullahian.

Abdullahian had expressed, in a telephone conversation with his Omani counterpart, on Friday evening, his thanks for the efforts of the foreign ministers of Iraq and the Sultanate of Oman in following up the issue of the release of the Iranian pilgrim detained in Saudi Arabia, expressing his hope that he will return to Iran soon.

Iran and Saudi Arabia have had no diplomatic relations following the attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran in January 2016 after Saudi Arabia executed Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a Shia cleric.

Given the severing of diplomatic relations between Tehran and Riyadh, Iran’s diplomatic and judicial efforts to release him continued through mediating countries.