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Last update - 22:01 15/11/2009
Report: Missing Iran general abducted by Mossad, being held in Israel
By Haaretz Service
Tags: Iran nuclear, Ali-Reza Asgari 

A former Iranian defense official who disappeared in 2006 was kidnapped by forces collaborating with the Mossad and is currently being held in an Israeli prison, an investigative news website in Iran claimed on Sunday in a report picked up by Army Radio.

Ali-Reza Asgari, a onetime commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, went missing in Turkey in 2006.

Iranian officials and Asgari's family have claimed that he was abducted.
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On Sunday, the Iranian website Alef reported that German, British and Israeli intelligence agencies were responsible for Asgari's disappearance.

"On the basis of a two-year investigation carried out by concerned bodies, Asgari was abducted by foreign intelligence services and is being held in a Zionist prison," the site reported, apparently referring to an Iranian intelligence probe into the matter.

The report claims that Asgari was kidnapped in an effort to get information about Iran's nuclear program and about missing Israel Air Force navigator Ron Arad.

The report added that after his questioning, Asgari was secretly transferred to a prison facility in Israel, where he is currently being held.

Hans Ruehle, a former chief of the planning staff of the German Defense
Ministry, wrote in a Swiss newspaper in March that Asgari told the West that Iran was financing North Korean steps to transform Syria into a nuclear weapons power, leading to an Israeli airstrike that targeted a site in Syria on Sept. 6, 2007.

The U.S. claims the site was a nearly finished nuclear reactor, but Syria denies that and says the facility was an unused military installation.

Ruehle said Asgari, who was instrumental in establishing the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, changed sides and provided information to the West on Iran's own nuclear program.

Iranian officials have said Asgari was not linked to Iran's nuclear program, but Western media reports have said he has cooperated with U.S. intelligence and is considered a high value defector.

Asgari, who became involved in the olive business after retirement, arrived in Turkey on a private visit from Damascus, Syria, on Dec. 7, 2006, and disappeared on Dec. 9, according to Iranian officials.

Ziba Ahmadi, one of Asgari's two wives, claimed at the time that her husband did not defect to Turkey and she believed some evidence showed he was abducted.

The Foreign Ministry has refused to comment on the report.

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      1.   An Iranian Gilad Shalit...???? 18:35  |  Swiss (Dino) 15/11/09
      2.   He probably defected 18:41  |  J Aldo 15/11/09
      3.   hope this is not true 18:54  |  watcher 15/11/09
      4.   free the 10,000 palestinan and the general now 19:12  |  Reza Shah 15/11/09
      5.   Asgari 19:19  |  Solomon 15/11/09
      6.   To Solomon... 19:41  |  Frank 15/11/09
      7.   this action justifies the actions of Hezbollah 19:48  |  william 15/11/09
      8.   Missing Iran general # 5 19:51  |  The Teacher/Instruct 15/11/09
      9.   Ron Arad was shot down as he was bombing Lebanon 20:00  |  Danny 15/11/09
      10.   apartheid israel is playing very dangerous games... 20:02  |  palestinian 15/11/09
      11.   #9 Danny ? What world do you live in? 20:40  |  Gilles 15/11/09
      12.   Nothing but a rumor 20:49  |  Linichka 15/11/09
      13.   Ifran Claims, So What 20:58  |  Brad 15/11/09
      14.   Talkback readers are so stupid 21:09  |  Sabra 15/11/09
      15.   The General is in criminal Switzerland ,watching money financing 21:38  |  Absolute Sweden 15/11/09
      16.   Sorry Boys, too late for that explanation 23:07  |  Jacob Blues 15/11/09
      17.   There probably was a third wife in play! 23:22  |  Tom Lobo Meyer 15/11/09
      18.   Reza Shah 4 23:26  |  ChanahS 15/11/09
      19.   william # 7 23:28  |  ChanahS 15/11/09
      20.   # 9 - Danny 23:30  |  Rozz 15/11/09
      21.   absolute sweden 15 00:12  |  potobac 16/11/09
      22.   abducted 01:13  |  Shmuelshachor 16/11/09
      23.   Sadly the man simply escaped the hell called Iran. 03:43  |  flower 16/11/09
      24.   He`s not happy 04:03  |  Mossjr. 16/11/09
      25.   Latest Iran report: The REAL Ahmadinejad was abducted by Mossad 04:39  |  Voice of Reason 16/11/09
      26.   Much Ado About Nothing 04:43  |  Alan 16/11/09
      27.   asgari switched sides BEFORE he was befriended :-) 05:05  |  jon 16/11/09
      28.   Ali-Reza Asgari the Christian convert 05:39  |  oxo 16/11/09
      29.   #14--actually he is here in the US 06:06  |  US CITIZEN 16/11/09
      30.   Where is your Red Cross Swisss (Dildo)?? 07:43  |  Joe V. Moer 16/11/09
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