TEHRAN, Sept. 29 (Xinhuanet) -- Fereydoun Jahani, an Iranian diplomat who was kidnapped in Iraq in August and released on Monday, arrived in Tehran Wednesday, the official IRNA news agency reported.

    Upon his arrival, Jahani confirmed that the kidnappers call themselves the Islamic Army in Iraq.

    "At first I was mistreated after being arrested, but later the captors changed their attitude towards me," Jahani said.

    Rebutting the claim made by some media that he was not a diplomat, Jahani stressed that he entered Iraq legally and was holding a diplomatic passport.

    "I was a diplomat and was appointed as Iran's consul to Iraq and entered the country as a diplomat," he said.

    In reaction to a question on the kidnappers' demand, Jahani said that they called for release of the Iraqi prisoners of war at first.

    "However, they soon realized that there are no more Iraqi prisoners of war in Iran," Jahani added.

    "In fact, time played a crucial role in my release, given they turned out to confirm that I was a diplomat and Iran's consul toI raq," Jahani concluded.

    Jahani was kidnapped on Aug. 4 on the way to Karbala from Baghdad to open a consular in the central Iraqi city. The kidnappers accused him of provoking sectarian conflicts and violating his diplomatic duties.

    Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Monday in a statement that Jahani's release should owe to the continuous efforts by the Foreign Ministry, Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi and the Iranian embassy to Baghdad, along with close cooperation of high-ranking Iraqi officials. Enditem