Zarif defends handling of kidnapped guards via Facebook
Iran's foreign minister has defended the administration against growing criticism of not doing enough to secure the release of the five border guards kidnapped in February, one of which has been killed.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif defended the efforts of the administration of President Hassan Rouhani to secure the release of the kidnapped border guards against mounting criticism from conservatives who want the administration take more swift action against terrorists operating on the Iran-Pakistan border.
“Like many of you, the condition of the Iranian hostages has been mine and my colleagues’ biggest concern,” Zarif wrote on Facebook this morning, speaking of the five border guards kidnapped by the Sunni militant group Jaish al-Adl in February. One of them, Jamshid Danaeifar, who had a ten-day-old son, was killed last week by the group believed to be inside Pakistan.
