Israel on worldwide alert after disappearance of Iran official

JERUSALEM — Israel has placed its foreign installations on alert after a newspaper reported the defection of a senior Iranian official in Turkey.

The alert was issued after Israel was blamed for the disappearance of a former Iranian deputy defense minister in Turkey. An Iranian delegation has been sent to Turkey and demanded the whereabouts of Ali Reza Asqhari, missing from an Istanbul hotel since Feb. 7.

The 63-year-old Asqhari, believed to have been a senior official in Iran's missile and nuclear weapons program, arrived in Istanbul from Damascus and had been registered in the Ceylon Hotel. But it was not clear whether he checked into the hotel.

On Tuesday, the London-based A-Sharq Al Awsat reported that Asqhari defected and was taken to the United States. The United States has not commented on the report. On Wednesday, the Saudi-owned newspaper quoted an Iranian military source as saying that Ashqhari was taken to an unidentified northern European state where he was being interrogated on Iran's nuclear weapons program.

Last week, Western intelligence sources said Asqhari, a former IRGC general, was believed to have defected as part of a CIA campaign to recruit Iranian scientists and defense officials. Asqhari was said to have been the Defense Ministry's liasion with Iran's strategic programs under Ali Shamkhani, who served as defense minister until 2006.

"It is likely that Asqhari has been abducted by the Western intelligence services," Iranian police chief Gen. Esmaeil Ahmadi Moghaddam said.

Israeli officials said the Defense Ministry and Foreign Ministry have increased security on embassies and legations throughout the world. They said the government declared an alert after Teheran accused the Jewish state of abducting a senior Iranian official.

"The prospect of an Iranian retaliation or provocation exists," an Israeli official said.

On Wednesday, Israel's National Security Council warned of the prospect of an imminent attack on Israelis in such countries as Egypt and Jordan. The council's Counter-Terrorism Division urged Israelis to leave all Arab countries immediately.

Israeli officials said Iran could retaliate by seeking to attack Israeli embassies or abducting government representatives. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was said to operate a special unit for such attacks.

At one point, Asqhari was also the IRGC's liasion with Hizbullah and helped develop its military force, the sources said. They said Turkey has determined that Asqhari defected to the United States and possessed information on Iran's intervention in Iraq, Lebanon and Syria.

It may well be that he is seeking (or has already obtained) asylum with the USA. Even if Israel had no involvement, the Mullahs could strike back at them for propaganda purposes -- this will be a huge blow to the Iranian regime if he really has defected, and they will be desperate to strike back and/or change the subject. They could lash out at Israel simply to get their people riled up at Israel, and/or to try to create a cover story that Mossad kidnapped him and THEN he accepted asylum in the USA, etc.

And, of course, it is quite possible that someone associated with Mossad had a role in getting him in touch with the right people in the vast US govt.

Iranian general 'seeking asylum in US'

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21344278-2703,00.html

* Abraham Rabinovich, Jerusalem
* March 08, 2007

A RETIRED Iranian general who went missing in Turkey last month has defected and sought asylum in the US, according to a well-connected Arabic newspaper published in London.
The newspaper, al-Shark al-Awsat, cited "high-profile" sources saying former Iranian deputy defence minister and Revolutionary Guard commander Ali Reza Asghari had gone over to the West.

Reports from Istanbul that General Asghari's family had also disappeared in Turkey support the likelihood that he defected rather than was kidnapped by either the CIA or by Israel's Mossad, as has been speculated. The general went missing from his Istanbul hotel a month ago.

Iranian authorities, who have been silent on the disappearance until this week, claim he has been abducted. "It is likely Asghari has been abducted by Western intelligence services," said Iran's top police officer, General Esmaeil Ahmadi Moghaddam.

Defection of such a high-ranking figure would leave no external enemy to blame and would be seen as a rejection of the Islamic state by someone who well knows its inner workings.

General Asghari's crossing of the line, whether voluntary or not, is a resounding blow for the Iranian Government since he is privy to its most intimate secrets, particularly those concerning its nuclear capabilities and plans.

He served until two years ago as deputy defence minister, a post he held for eight years and which presumably offered an uninhibited view of virtually every aspect of Iran's security apparatus.

He was reportedly closely associated with Iran's activities in support of the Shi'ites in Iraq.

US intelligence analysts contend that Iran has been providing armaments to Iraqi Shia fighters that have been used with deadly effect against coalition forces, particularly highly lethal roadside bombs.

General Asghari would presumably be able to address the question of whether these shipments have been made with "approval from top leaders in Iran", as a senior US intelligence officer has claimed.

Israel's Shin Bet security service, which is responsible for protecting Israeli diplomatic missions abroad and senior Israeli officials on their travels, has reportedly boosted its activity abroad in anticipation of a possible Iranian attempt to kidnap an Israeli official.

"We formulate our security arrangements according to developments in the field and intelligence information," said a Shin Bet spokesman yesterday.

Israel has denied any connection to the missing general. Israeli officials, however, would clearly like to hear what General Asghari has to say about the disappearance of a downed Israeli navigator, Ron Arad, who was reportedly transferred by Lebanese Shi'ites to Iran in the 1980s when General Asghari was commander of an Iranian Revolutionary Guard detachment posted in Lebanon to liaise with Hezbollah.

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