DUBAI (Reuters) - An Iranian diplomat held hostage in Yemen since 2013 has been freed following an intelligence operation and returned home on Thursday, state media reported.

"A special team from the Intelligence Ministry was able to free (Noor Ahmad) Nikbakht from the clutches of terrorists in a series of complex and difficult operations in a very particular part of Yemen," state news agency IRNA quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian as saying.