Mossad Allegedly Abducted Iranian Generals in Bid to Find Missing Navigator Ron Arad
Translated & summarized from Ynet by baba
A New York Times investigation claims Israel abducted Iranian generals Abdullah Sabri and Ali Reza Asgari over the past two decades to find information on missing navigator Ron Arad. Asgari was allegedly interrogated by the Mossad and killed, while Sabri was reportedly abducted from Syria and later released. Experts suggest Israel's belief that Iran was responsible for Arad's disappearance led to flawed operations. The search for Arad has now shifted focus to Lebanon, with a theory suggesting he was executed in retaliation for the death of a relative of another abducted figure, Ahmed Shokair.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Israel allegedly abducted Iranian generals Abdullah Sabri and Ali Reza Asgari to find missing navigator Ron Arad.
- Ali Reza Asgari was reportedly interrogated by the Mossad and killed, with his body dumped in the Black Sea.
- Abdullah Sabri was allegedly abducted from Syria in a large refrigerator carton and later released in South Africa.
- Experts believe Israel's assumption of Iran's responsibility for Arad's disappearance led to misguided operations.
- The search for Ron Arad's remains has shifted focus from Iran to Lebanon.
- A leading theory suggests Arad was executed in retaliation for the death of a relative of Ahmed Shokair.
A New York Times investigation has revealed details about alleged Israeli operations to abduct Iranian generals over the past two decades, aiming to gather intelligence on the fate of missing Israeli navigator Ron Arad. One of the generals named is Abdullah Sabri, reportedly abducted in Damascus in 2021 inside a large refrigerator carton. Another is Ali Reza Asgari, a more prominent figure who disappeared from Istanbul in 2006.
According to the report, Asgari, a former deputy defense minister and a senior figure in Iran's Revolutionary Guards, was interrogated by the Mossad for weeks aboard a boat. The interrogation focused on his potential connection to Arad's disappearance. However, the investigation yielded no results, and former U.S. officials suggest his body was dumped into the Black Sea. Asgari was reportedly involved in intelligence operations in Lebanon in the 1990s, collaborating with Hezbollah.
Dani Sitrinovitz, a former head of the Iran desk at IDF Military Intelligence's Research Division, commented that the belief in Israel that Iran was responsible for Arad's disappearance led to misguided decisions. He stated that Arad was likely killed in 1988 and never transferred to Iran. Sitrinovitz suggested that Asgari's abduction and death did not yield any information about Arad, indicating that targeting Asgari was a "wrong bet."
Regarding Abdullah Sabri, reports from 2021 indicated his abduction in Syria by the Mossad to gain information on Ron Arad. He was allegedly brought to Tel Aviv, but after failing to obtain reliable intelligence, he was transferred to South Africa and released. A post attributed to the Mossad on X in Persian in October 2025 claimed responsibility for Sabri's abduction, describing it as a "small trip."
The report also mentions Ahmed Shokair, a retired Lebanese security officer, who was reportedly abducted by the Mossad in Lebanon in late 2025. Shokair was allegedly one of the few individuals aware of Arad's whereabouts in 1988. Israeli sources told The New York Times that the leading theory is that Arad was executed in retaliation for the death of Shokair's brother, who fought against IDF forces in 1988. In March, the IDF conducted operations in Nabi Sheet, Lebanon, where Arad was last known to be held, searching for his remains, but reportedly found nothing. The focus of the search for Arad has now shifted from Iran to Lebanon.
Mentioned
