The body of Iran’s former ambassador to Lebanon who went missing during the September 24 Mina tragedy in Saudi Arabia has been identified, an informed source says.

The body of Ghazanfar Roknabadi will be transferred to Iran on Thursday morning.
The body of the Iranian diplomat was identified following DNA tests as two of his close relatives are currently in Saudi Arabia. Evidence shows he lost his life in the Mina tragedy.

The Mina tragedy took place during this year’s Hajj rituals after two large masses of pilgrims fused at a crossroads in Mina, a few kilometers east of the holy city of Mecca, on their way to participate in the symbolic stoning of Satan ritual in Jamarat.

Saudi Arabia claims nearly 770 people were killed in the incident, but officials with Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization say about 4,700 people, including 464 Iranians, lost their lives in the tragedy.

MD/PA