A Spanish man trekking from Madrid to Doha for the 2022 FIFA World Cup has not been heard from since the day after crossing into Iran three weeks ago, stirring fears about his fate in a country convulsed by mass unrest.
A Spanish man trekking from Madrid to Doha for the 2022 FIFA World Cup has not been heard from since the day after he crossed into Iran three weeks ago, his family said Monday, stirring fears about his fate in a country convulsed by mass unrest.
The Spanish adventurer explained how he planned to go to Tehran, the Iranian capital, the following day, where a television station wanted to interview him. His next step would have been Bandar Abbas, a port in southern Iran where he would hop on a boat to Qatar. But all traces of him evaporated even before he reached Tehran, his parents think.
Spain's Foreign Ministry said it had no information about Sánchez's whereabouts, adding that the Spanish ambassador to Tehran was handling the matter. Calls to the Iranian Foreign Ministry seeking comment were not immediately returned. Sánchez's reported disappearance in Iran comes as protesters are rising up across the Islamic Republic in the largest anti-government movement in over a decade. The demonstrations erupted on Sept. 16 over the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman taken into custody by Iran’s morality police for allegedly not adhering to the country’s strict Islamic dress code.