The Washington Post: The missing Iranian general collaborates with Western intelligence

The former deputy Minister of Defense of Iran Ali Reza Asgary, who disappeared about a month ago, was leaving about a month ago during a visit to Turkey, he left the country and is currently cooperating with Western special services, a high -ranking source in the United States said. According to him, Asgary already shared information about the Hizballlah group and her connections with Tehran.

According to The Washington Post , the American official did not clarify the whereabouts of the retired Iranian general, as well as who interrogates him, but clearly made it clear that the United States has all the information provided to the former deputy minister.

The day before, official sources in Tehran said that Asgari was abducted by Israeli or American intelligence services. According to an anonymous source in the Iran government, Tehran does not have data where Asgar may be, but he believes that Israel could pay him a large amount of money for the disappearance.

At the same time, in the Israeli media there was information that Asgari is in the United States. The American officials refuted this and, in turn, said that Asgari became a voluntary defector and his escape was carried out with the help of Israeli special services. Later, the Israeli government rejected these statements. “According to my data, Israel has never been involved in this disappearance in no way,” said the press secretary of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Mark Regev.

Asgary was in the service in the Iranian government until the beginning of 2005. The post that he occupied, suggested that Asgari has serious information about the country's security system, weapons, which is equipped with the Iranian army, as well as about Iran’s connections with the Shiite Group Hizballs, based in the north of Lebanon. According to the Iranian authorities, he was not involved in the country's nuclear program, and as the American official said, the Augari does not ask questions on this topic.

Meanwhile, according to RIA Novosti , the Turkish authorities are conducting a thorough investigation in connection with the disappearance in Istanbul of Asgari. "The Turkish Foreign Ministry, together with law enforcement agencies and special services, conduct a detailed investigation. Work in this direction continues. We hope to collect all the necessary information about the person in question and his movements," said the head of the Turkish Foreign Ministry Abdullah Gul.

According to Gul, the Turkish authorities attach important importance to the search for a retired Iranian general and do everything necessary in order to find out the truth. According to the Turkish press, the former deputy minister of defense of Iran arrived in Istanbul on February 7, where for him a room at the Ceylan Intecontinental hotel was booked for him for three days. On February 9, he disappeared without a trace, after which the Iran Foreign Ministry turned to the Turkish authorities for help in his search.

As a result of the audit conducted by the Turkish special services, it was found that Asgari, while in Istanbul, was talking on a mobile phone with his family in Iran, and his telephone conversations were listened to by Iranian counterintelligence. The last time the signals from the cell phone of the Iranian ex-General were recorded on February 9.