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Mossad Allegedly Kidnapped, Killed Iranian General in Ron Arad Search
A New York Times investigation has revealed that Israel's Mossad abducted and killed former Iranian Deputy Defense Minister Ali Reza Asgari in December 2006 during a search for information on missing Israeli Air Force navigator Ron Arad. Asgari, a general in the Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force, was abducted from an Istanbul hotel, interrogated for weeks aboard a ship, and subsequently killed, with his body reportedly dumped in the Black Sea. The interrogation yielded no information about Arad's fate.
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What happened
- 01A New York Times investigation revealed that Mossad abducted and killed former Iranian Deputy Defense Minister Ali Reza Asgari in 2006.
- 02Asgari was interrogated for weeks aboard a ship regarding the fate of missing Israeli navigator Ron Arad before being killed.
- 03Mossad operatives reportedly disposed of Asgari's body in the Black Sea after the interrogation yielded no information.
- 04In 2021, Israeli intelligence abducted Iranian General Abdullah Sabri in Damascus, smuggling him to Israel in a refrigerator box.
- 05Sabri was interrogated solely about Ron Arad before being left by his captors in Johannesburg, South Africa.
- 06Israeli intelligence now believes Ron Arad died in Lebanon in 1988, contradicting earlier theories of his transfer to Iran.
- 07An Israeli search operation conducted in March 2026 in the Nabi Chit region of Lebanon failed to locate Arad's remains.
The investigation also detailed the 2021 abduction of Iranian General Abdullah Sabri, also referred to as Abdullah Saberi, in Damascus. Israeli intelligence officers disguised as transporters drugged Sabri during a morning run, smuggled him to Israel in a refrigerator box, and interrogated him solely about Arad before leaving him in Johannesburg, South Africa. Then-Mossad chief David Barnea confirmed authorizing a failed operation to obtain information on Arad.
Israeli intelligence now largely believes that Arad died in the Nabi Chit region of Lebanon in 1988, contradicting earlier theories that he had been transferred to Iran. Internal Israeli investigations in 2006 and 2016 reached this same conclusion. Despite numerous operations, including a search by Israeli forces at Nabi Chit in March 2026, Arad's remains have not been recovered.
Summarized by baba from the reports of 3 newsrooms. Updated
Latest report: i24NEWS French. Read i24NEWS French’s originalThe coverage
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- Centre2
- Right1
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Not in the Left or Arab press
