TEHRAN – Iranian citizen Ali Akbar Aboutaleb Esfahani and his son have safely left Syria and were on their way back, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said. 
He said Esfahani had traveled to Syria for a pilgrimage to the holy sites but was unable to leave due to the developments in the country. With the cooperation of relevant parties in Syria and efforts by the foreign ministry, the Iranian national and his child were able to depart Syria for Iran on Friday, he said.