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Mossad Kidnapped Iranian Generals in Search for Missing Navigator Ron Arad
The Mossad abducted two Iranian generals over the past two decades as part of its efforts to locate missing navigator Ron Arad, according to a New York Times investigation published on Sunday, November 15, 2026. The operations were driven by Israel's determination to find Arad, who was captured by the Amal movement in Lebanon in October 1986 and is the only Israeli soldier officially listed as missing in action.
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What happened
- 01The Mossad abducted two Iranian generals over the past two decades to gather information on missing navigator Ron Arad, according to The New York Times.
- 02General Ali-Reza Asgari disappeared in Istanbul in 2006, was interrogated by Mossad, and was allegedly killed with his body thrown into the Black Sea.
- 03General Abdullah Sabri was kidnapped in Damascus in September 2021 by agents posing as furniture movers who drugged him and smuggled him to Israel.
- 04Sabri was interrogated for weeks regarding Ron Arad and was later released in Johannesburg, South Africa.
- 05Neither of the abducted Iranian generals possessed any information regarding the fate of the missing Israeli navigator.
- 06Israeli security officials now believe Ron Arad was never held in Iran and that Tehran and Hezbollah were not involved in his 1986 disappearance.
- 07Ron Arad, who was captured by Amal in Lebanon in October 1986, remains the only Israeli soldier officially listed as missing in action.
General Ali-Reza Asgari disappeared in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2006 and was interrogated by Mossad operatives for weeks. According to former senior American officials, Asgari died during the process and his body was disposed of in the Black Sea. The second general, Abdullah Sabri, a senior Revolutionary Guards official, was abducted in Damascus, Syria, in September 2021. Agents posing as furniture movers ambushed Sabri during a morning run near the Iranian embassy, drugged him, and smuggled him to Israel in a commercial vehicle, reportedly inside a refrigerator box. Sabri was interrogated and later released in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Neither general possessed any information regarding Arad. Despite these extensive efforts, the prevailing assessment among Israeli security officials today is that Arad was never held in Iran, and that neither Tehran nor Hezbollah was involved in his 1986 disappearance. Investigators reportedly suffered from intelligence errors, including confirmation bias, and search efforts are currently focused on Lebanon.
Summarized by baba from the reports of 4 newsrooms. Updated
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