NYT Report Details Israeli Failures in Ron Arad Search, Including Abductions

A comprehensive investigation by The New York Times has revealed significant failures and questionable actions by Israel in its decades-long search for navigator Ron Arad, who disappeared in Lebanon in 1986. The report, based on interviews with numerous Israeli, Iranian, and American sources, suggests that intelligence assessments accumulated over the years indicated Arad was likely never transferred to Iran and may have died in Lebanon as early as 1988. Despite these assessments, Israeli intelligence agencies continued to operate under the assumption of Iranian involvement.

The investigation details two covert operations where Israeli forces abducted senior commanders of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to interrogate them about Arad's fate. According to former U.S. officials, one of these abductions resulted in the death of the Iranian officer. Neither operation yielded information that resolved the mystery of Arad's disappearance.

One key event involved the 1994 abduction of Mustafa Dirani, who claimed to have held Arad in a Lebanese village. Dirani's account, which varied under interrogation, eventually suggested that the IRGC had taken Arad to Iran. However, Israeli investigators reportedly doubted his initial claims, and no evidence has ever confirmed Arad was held in an Iranian prison. Some Israeli officials believed Dirani's later statements were coerced and unreliable.

Further complicating the search, a joint Iran-Hezbollah investigation in 2004 concluded that Arad likely died in 1988 in the Lebanese village of Nabi Sheet and was probably buried there. However, Israel interpreted Iran's involvement in this investigation as proof of its culpability. A 2005 Israeli intelligence report concluded Arad was abducted by the IRGC, a conclusion later deemed likely erroneous by one of its authors.

The report also sheds light on the 2007 disappearance of IRGC General Ali Reza Asgari in Istanbul. Former senior U.S. officials claim Mossad agents abducted and killed Asgari, interrogating him on a ship before disposing of his body in the Black Sea. They stated he was questioned about Arad but no connection was found. Asgari's wife reported that Israeli intelligence drugged and abducted him.

Despite internal Israeli intelligence reviews in 2006 and later by Avi Kalo, who headed the IDF's POW and MIA division, concluding that Arad likely died in Lebanon and was never in Iran, these findings had little impact on decision-makers. Kalo presented his conclusions to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in late 2016, recommending a focus on Lebanon, and stated that abducting Iranians would not solve the mystery. The search has since refocused on Lebanon, with recent efforts including the disappearance of a former Lebanese security official suspected of knowing Arad's fate.