Israel Kidnapped Iranian Generals Seeking Ron Arad's Fate

Israeli intelligence agents kidnapped Iranian General Abdallah Sabri in a wealthy diplomatic district in Syria in September 2021, disguising themselves as delivery drivers. They subdued, drugged, and transported him in a large refrigerator box to Israel. This daring operation, along with other covert missions, was solely aimed at discovering the fate of navigator Ron Arad, who disappeared in 1986. New details of these operations emerge from an extensive New York Times investigation based on interviews with dozens of former senior officials from Iran, Israel, and the US.

The investigation reveals how for decades, a mistaken belief that Iran was involved in Arad's disappearance fueled cross-border operations, abductions, and harsh interrogations. For instance, Iranian General Ali Reza Asgari vanished in Istanbul in 2006 and was abducted by the Mossad. He was interrogated about Arad for weeks and subsequently killed, despite possessing no relevant information.

The roots of this misconception trace back to October 1986, when Arad's plane was shot down in southern Lebanon, and he was captured by the Amal organization, led by Mustafa Dirani. Although initial investigations pointed to Lebanon, the assumption of Iranian involvement became accepted as fact in Israel, partly due to questionable testimony from an Iranian doctor in 1992 and pressure and torture inflicted on Dirani in 1994, during which he claimed an Iranian officer told him the Revolutionary Guard had abducted Arad.

However, numerous internal and secret Israeli reports commissioned over the years definitively concluded that Iran never held Arad. In 2006, former Shin Bet Chief Yuval Diskin submitted a report dismissing Iran's involvement, and in 2016, Avi Kalo, the former coordinator of missing soldiers, described it as a "collective blind spot," stating, "Iran was outside the event."

Despite these findings, intelligence officials persisted with their assumptions due to confirmation bias. This realization only recently permeated Israel's security leadership, partly following the interrogation of General Sabri, who was later released in Johannesburg. The prevailing assessment among those involved in the case today is that Arad was never held in Iran and likely died in 1988 in the Lebanese village of Nabi Sheet, the location indicated by early reports decades ago. In line with this shift, Israeli soldiers raided Nabi Sheet this year searching for his remains, following the disappearance of a retired Lebanese officer suspected of knowing Arad's location, who was allegedly abducted by Israeli agents.