A diplomat has been freed more than 18 months after he was snatched by terrorists on his way to work at the Iranian embassy in Yemen . Nour-Ahmad Nikbakht 's return was broadcast today on Iran 's state media as he thanked the country 's secret services and foreign ministry for getting him home . Mr Nikbakht was working at Iran 's embassy in the Yemeni capital Sanaa in July 2013 when he was kidnapped by suspected Al Qaeda gunmen . Increasing danger : Iranian diplomat Nour-Ahmad Nikbakht was working at Iran 's embassy in the Yemeni capital Sanaa ( pictured ) in July 2013 when he was kidnapped by terrorists and held for more than 18 months . The militants held him in a remote area between the southern provinces of Shabwa and Baida , tribal and Yemeni security sources said . As he returned today to Tehran 's Mehrabad Airport , he told state media : ' I was kidnapped by unknown gunmen and terrorists as I left my home to go to work . ' He added that 'many efforts were made by soldiers from ( Iran 's secret services ) , the intelligence ministry and the foreign ministry ' to secure his release . The state news agency quoted deputy foreign minister Hossein AmirAbdollahian as saying : ' A special team from the Intelligence Ministry was able to . free Nikbakht from the clutches of terrorists in a series of . complex and difficult operations in a very particular part of . Yemen ' . Mr Nikbakht was the second high-profile hostage to be freed in . Yemen this week after a Saudi diplomat kidnapped in 2012 and held by Al Qaeda was . released on Monday . With oil giant Saudi Arabia on its northern border and Al-Shabaab base Somalia a short way across the sea , Yemen is in a crucial position in the fight against terror . But the United Nations has warned Yemen is 'on the brink of civil war ' after Iranian-backed Shia Muslim militants known as Houthis seized the capital in September . The move prompted a violent backlash by Sunni Muslim militants - including Al Qaeda , many of whose terrorist operations are run from Yemen . 'On the brink of civil war ' : Yemeni gunmen loyal to the Houthi movement which has swept to power in Sanaa . Last month Al Qaeda-linked fighters seized an army base in the southern province of Shabwa which had held up to 2,000 government soldiers . The Ansar al-Sharia group said on Twitter that it had set off a suicide bomb at the gate , took control of three guard towers and a tank and imprisoned some of the troops . The Houthis , meanwhile are continuing their spread across the country too prompting violent clashes with Sunni tribesmen . Jamal Benomar , the UN Special Envoy to Yemen , said last month : 'We believe the situation is very dangerous . Yemen is on the brink of civil war ' . He accused all sides of contributing to the political and economic turmoil and called for more talks . Yemen has been gripped by unrest since president Ali Abdullah Saleh stepped down in early 2012 after a bloody year-long popular uprising . In January last year , another Iranian diplomat , Ali Asghar Assadi , was shot dead in an attack in a neighbourhood in Sanaa housing several foreign embassies .
Nour-Ahmad Nikbakht 's return to Tehran was broadcast on state media . The Iranian government has denied that it is behind the attack and says its forces are fighting against "terrorists" in Iraq. Suspected Al Qaeda militants held him in a remote area in the south . He was freed with help of Iranian secret agents and foreign ministry .