TEHRAN -- The Office of the Leader's Representative at Science and Industry University, who is also in charge of the Student Basij (volunteer forces) at that university, urged the Iranian foreign minister to take serious diplomatic measures in order to secure the release of the Iranian student detained in Iraq.

In a letter to Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi, the Leader's representative said that Mahdi Nasiri, who is a member of the university's Islamic society, was arrested by Iraqi forces in a disrespectful manner before the eyes of his terrified family and taken to an unknown location.

It said that the Foreign Ministry should work to obtain the Iraqi government's assurance that similar actions would not be taken against other Iranian pilgrims visiting holy sites in Iraq.