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Subject: Top Iranian General Disappears
VelocityVector    3/5/2007 8:09:02 PM
Fatal crashes, toxic gas exposure, kidnappings – life seems to have gotten a wee bit more challenging for Iranian generals and technical types these days . . . Kidnapped or Defected? Top Iranian General Disappears March 05, 2007 5:28 PM Hoda Osman and Christopher Isham Report: The mysterious disappearance of an Iranian general in Turkey in early February has led to speculation he either was kidnapped or defected. Iran has reportedly asked Interpol to investigate the general's disappearance. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was quoted by Iran's news agency today as saying that a foreign ministry official was currently in Turkey to investigate the disappearance and has asked the Turkish government "to inquire into the issue and give explanation on Asgari's whereabouts." One respected analyst with sources in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard says Gen. Ali Reza Asgari has defected and is now in a European country with his entire family, where he is cooperating with the U.S. Other reports have suggested that the general may have been kidnapped by the Israeli secret service, the Mossad. A spokesperson at the CIA declined to comment on the reported defection. "This is a fatal blow to Iranian intelligence," said the source, explaining that Asgari knows sensitive information about Iran's nuclear and military projects. Iran called tens of its Revolutionary Guard agents working at embassies and cultural centers in Arab and European countries back to Tehran out of fear that Asgari might disclose secret information about their identities, according to the analyst. There are conflicting reports about how and when Asgari disappeared. The general, according to Turkish and Israeli press reports, arrived in Istanbul from Damascus on Feb. 7. Initial reports speculated he may have been kidnapped because he failed to show up at a hotel that had been booked for him by two non-Turkish men. The source, however, believes Asgari's disappearance was prompted by the detention of five Iranians after the raid on their government's liaison office in Irbil, Iraq in January. Asgari, 63, knew and may have worked with some of the detained men, said the analyst. Asgari's years with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and the Iranian defense ministry would make him an invaluable source of information. He was reportedly based in Lebanon in the 1990s and was in charge of ties with the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah. At one point he was also in charge of military purchases at the defense ministry and exposed widespread corruption there which led to the arrest of a number of officials. Most recently, he worked as a consultant for the same ministry. h_tp://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/03/kidnapped_or_de.html v^2
 
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HYPOCENTER    Oooooohhhhhhh VERY interesting!   3/5/2007 8:24:08 PM
Quite the interesting development here. If the Iranian general was simply kidnapped, I doubt his family would have been kidnapped along with him. At least, that would be a first. This is why I think he defected to western intelligence agency's, and if this is the case -- the question is what does he know? What character did he play in the Iranian military.... was he small time or "in the know"?

Is it very likely a general would know anything about the Iranian regimes nuke facilities and/or plans? I doubt it, but I hope he does.

 
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KlubMarcus       3/6/2007 2:40:39 AM
Hey, maybe they're committing suicide. He He He!
 
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swhitebull       3/6/2007 6:36:00 AM
from CaptainQuartersBlog.com
 
 

Where In The World Is Ali Reza Asgari?

The Iranians seem to have misplaced one of their intelligence-service generals. Ali Reza Asgari, last seen in Turkey last month, has not phoned home for the last few weeks, and the Iranians blame the US for his disappearance:

The mysterious disappearance of an Iranian general in Turkey in early February has led to speculation he either was kidnapped or defected.

Iran has reportedly asked Interpol to investigate the general's disappearance. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was quoted by Iran's news agency today as saying that a foreign ministry official was currently in Turkey to investigate the disappearance and has asked the Turkish government "to inquire into the issue and give explanation on Asgari's whereabouts."

One respected analyst with sources in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard says Gen. Ali Reza Asgari has defected and is now in a European country with his entire family, where he is cooperating with the U.S.

Other reports have suggested that the general may have been kidnapped by the Israeli secret service, the Mossad. A spokesperson at the CIA declined to comment on the reported defection.

"This is a fatal blow to Iranian intelligence," said the source, explaining that Asgari knows sensitive information about Iran's nuclear and military projects. Iran called tens of its Revolutionary Guard agents working at embassies and cultural centers in Arab and European countries back to Tehran out of fear that Asgari might disclose secret information about their identities, according to the analyst.

 

Sources offer competing theories for his disappearance. Some believe the Mossad captured Asgari, hoping to learn more about Iran's nuclear program. Others claim he surrendered himself voluntarily to the US. Asgari could also have been captured by the US in retaliation for the abduction and murder of five American soldiers in Iraq, an operation that Asgari likely ran.

Regardless of where he went and who has him now, the loss creates a huge headache for the Iranians. They have to assume that either we or the Israelis have him, and that all of his information has become exposed. Their agents, their networks, their system of safehouses -- anything Asgari used or knew has to be trashed. That means a massive effort to repenetrate Iraqi institutions, and that may be more difficult than ever with the new surge in Baghdad suppressing the reach of the Mahdi Army.

It's not just Iraqi areas in which Asgari has critical knowledge. He worked with Hezbollah in the 1990s and would probably still have contacts within the Iranian proxy terrorist group. Asgari also has extensive knowledge of the Revolutionary Guard -- its organization, its capabilities, and the location of its units.

Another possibility exists. Asgari exposed fraud in Iranian defense procurement, which led to the arrest of several officials earlier. Some Iranians may not have been as pleased with his reformist zeal, especially those allied to the disgraced officials that wound up in prison. These Iranians may have killed Asgari themselves, although it would not do them much good to make the body disappear.

The Iranians have no clue about what may have befallen Asgari. That works in our favor. If the Iranians have to defend all possibilities, it could tie them up for months and seriously damage their intel capabilities. (via Hot Air)

 
swhitebull
 
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VelocityVector       3/6/2007 3:34:06 PM

My pet theory is that general Asgari will return soon as the 12th imam.  He will come in one of the pre-chosen forms.  During the rectification of the Vuldrini, the traveler will come as a large and moving Torg!  Then, during the third reconciliation of the last of the McKetrick supplicants, they will choose a new form for him:  that of a giant Slor!  Many Shuvs and Zuuls will know what it is like to be roasted in the depths of the Slor that day, I can tell you.

v^2

 
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HYPOCENTER       3/6/2007 4:24:34 PM
LOL VelocityVector!

Well, now that we know this guy was part of the intelligence arm of the Iranian government, he may very well hold the "key's" to the kingdom. Maybe the Alrdeich Ames of our time? No possible way to tell at this juncture. I'm dying to know what he's talking about right now. Are there secret nuke programs? Where? How strong is the Iran/NK link? Who are Irans key strategic partners, and what is their relationship? What's the end goal for the Iranian regime? Who are Irans spys, how extensive is the network, what are their methods? Iraq? So many questions....

If this guy can answer at least one of the above he would be a very valuable asset.


 
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VelocityVector    Former Iranian Defense Official Talks to Western Intelligence   3/8/2007 12:30:48 PM

Former Iranian Defense Official Talks to Western Intelligence

By Dafna Linzer
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 8, 2007; A16

A former Iranian deputy defense minister who once commanded the Revolutionary Guard has left his country and is cooperating with Western intelligence agencies, providing information on Hezbollah and Iran's ties to the organization, according to a senior U.S. official.

Ali Rez Asgari disappeared last month during a visit to Turkey. Iranian officials suggested yesterday that he may have been kidnapped by Israel or the United States. The U.S. official said Asgari is willingly cooperating. He did not divulge Asgari's whereabouts or specify who is questioning him, but made clear that the information Asgari is offering is fully available to U.S. intelligence.

Asgari served in the Iranian government until early 2005 under then-President Mohammad Khatami. Asgari's background suggests that he would have deep knowledge of Iran's national security infrastructure, conventional weapons arsenal and ties to Hezbollah in south Lebanon. Iranian officials said he was not involved in the country's nuclear program, and the senior U.S. official said Asgari is not being questioned about it. Former officers with Israel's Mossad spy agency said yesterday that Asgari had been instrumental in the founding of Hezbollah in the 1980s, around the time of the bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut.

Iran's official news agency, IRNA, quoted the country's top police chief, Brig. Gen. Esmaeil Ahmadi-Moqaddam, as saying that Asgari was probably kidnapped by agents working for Western intelligence agencies. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Asgari was in the United States. Another U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, denied that report and suggested that Asgari's disappearance was voluntary and orchestrated by the Israelis. A spokesman for President Bush's National Security Council did not return a call for comment.

<<snip>>

Correspondents Scott Wilson in Jerusalem and Anthony Shadid in Beirut and staff researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.

http://www.washingtonpost.com

v^2

 
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PlatypusMaximus       3/13/2007 8:57:47 PM

What Has Tehran to Gain from Hizballah’s New Face?

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report

March 13, 2007, 6:48 PM (GMT+02:00)

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For the first time in its 20-year history as a reviled international kidnapper, Hizballah is demanding that its representatives be allowed to hold direct talks with Israel.

The demand interrupted the efforts by a German BND intelligence go-between to negotiate the release of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, the Israeli soldiers whose abduction on the Israeli side of the Lebanese border touched of a 33-day war.

If the Olmert government responds positively, it will also be the first time that Israeli military intelligence officers have ever come face to face with Hizballah’s military officials.

The Hizballah demand was specific. They asked to meet with “Ofer Dekel and his people,” thereby identifying the former Shin Bet deputy chief who is in charge of the effort to obtain the release of the two soldiers snatched by Hizballah and Gilead Shalit, who was kidnapped in a Hamas-led incursion from the Gaza Strip a month earlier.

In addition to the German middleman, the Lebanese Shiite terror group has also asked Qatar to open up a direct link with Israel for talks on the two hostages.

One conjecture by Israeli intelligence officials is that Hizballah has been told to offer to trade information about Goldwasser and Regev for word about Iranian ex-general Ali Reza Asgari, said to have disappeared in Istanbul on Feb. 7.

Before deciding on a response to Hizballah’s surprise approach, Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert has asked for intelligence evaluations on what is behind it.

One theory speaks of a fresh Hizballah trap.

But, more seriously, the case of the missing Asgari, who according to some reports is in the process of debriefing by Western intelligence somewhere in Europe, has completely stumped Tehran. The Iranian government is at sea over how, when and why the former deputy defense minister disappeared, and who is holding him now. They refuse to believe that he spied for the West for many years or that he defected voluntarily.

To support this conviction, Tehran put Ziba Ahmadi, Asgari’s wife, their three children and his brother, on television to deny his defection. Their appearance was meant to belie the reports that he had asked for asylum in the West for himself and family.

But there were two slips in the TV interview.

Mrs. Asgari said he had been missing since Dec. 9, 2006, whereas he was generally reported to have disappeared in Istanbul on Feb. 7.

His brother Davoud admitted that Asgari had two wives.

This hypothesis postulates that, after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appealed to the Saudis for help in tracing the missing general and was turned down, Tehran sent Hizballah to dig information from Israel. It was understood that the Olmert government would not to agree to sensitive negotiations of this kind going forward through a third party. The German middleman was therefore dispensed with and a direct encounter demanded.

A third hypothesis current in Israeli intelligence is that Hizballah’s initiative is part and parcel of the newly-launched US-Iran diplomatic track on Tehran’s nuclear misdoings and its disruptive role in Iraq. The first steps went forward discreetly through Saudi Arabia. Since the Baghdad neighbors’ meeting for stabilizing Iraq Saturday, March 10, the exchanges are out in the open. A follow-up between foreign ministers is expected to take place in Istanbul in April.

The first positive action by Tehran has been to call its proxies off from hounding the pro-Western Fouad Siniora government of Lebanon; Hizballah has been told to end its boycott of the g

 
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Herc the Merc       3/19/2007 5:19:38 PM

Report: Iran plans to kidnap Israelis

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reefdiver       3/20/2007 1:50:41 PM
The Revolutionary Guard's newspaper, Subhi Sadek, published an article warning that Iran intended to strike back. "We've got the ability to capture a nice bunch of blue-eyed, blond-haired officers and feed them to our fighting cocks," it read. "Iran has enough people who can reach the heart of Europe and kidnap Americans and Israelis."
 
--- Hardly a day goes by that Iran isn't spouting threat that may just give Bush yet another mark on his checklist of reasons to goto war.  Some days it really seems they want to be attacked.
 
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VelocityVector       3/20/2007 3:46:29 PM

The Revolutionary Guard's newspaper, Subhi Sadek, published an article warning that Iran intended to strike back. "We've got the ability to capture a nice bunch of blue-eyed, blond-haired officers and feed them to our fighting cocks," it read. "Iran has enough people who can reach the heart of Europe and kidnap Americans and Israelis."

--- Hardly a day goes by that Iran isn't spouting threat that may just give Bush yet another mark on his checklist of reasons to goto war.  Some days it really seems they want to be attacked.

Oh no!  Not the Iranian fighting cocks!  American cocks so very tiny, Iranian cocks so very very beeeg.  I hereby acquiesce to Iranian nuke plans unconditionally, where do I sign ;>)

You may have a point there, Iranian religious zealos appear to be itching for a fight.  Then again, perhaps they internalized maskirovka from their Russian business partners . . .

v^2

 
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