TEHRAN: The body of a senior Iranian diplomat missing since the Haj stampede in Saudi Arabia in September has been identified, Iranian media said Wednesday, quashing speculation he was kidnapped.

The corpse of Iran’s former ambassador to Lebanon, Ghazanfar Roknabadi, 49, was identified through DNA tests, the ISNA news agency reported citing reliable sources.

“My brothers traveled to Saudi Arabia and after seeing his body announced they have identified him,” the ex-diplomat’s brother, Morteza, was quoted by the state television website as saying.

Roknabadi’s body will be repatriated on Thursday, he added.

Iranian media did not give details of how and when he died.

Roknabadi was attending this year’s Haj when the stampede broke out.

Until last year, Roknabadi was Tehran’s envoy to Beirut, a highly sensitive post.

Lebanon is home to the Iran-backed Shiite movement Hezbollah, which is allied with President Bashar Assad in the Syrian civil war and is also a bitter enemy of Israel.

The stampede created strong tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Riyadh has slammed Tehran for trying to politicize the tragedy.