Posted on 03/07/2007 12:45:06 PM PST by radar101
TEHRAN, Iran — The mystery of a missing former Iranian deputy defense minister deepened Wednesday with the report by an Arab newspaper that he is being interviewed somewhere in northern Europe before defecting to the U.S.
Retired Revolutionary Guards general Ali Reza Asghari disappeared in Turkey nearly a month ago and reportedly hopes to seek asylum in the United States, according to a report in the London-based al-Sharq al-Awsat.
The newspaper quoted senior Iranian sources as saying Asghari is headed for the United States "along with the secrets he carried."
A Senior U.S. official told FOX News that Asghari is not in CIA hands but said that it's a "mystery" why he disappeared "and the U.S. intelligence community is seeking more clarity."
Al-Sharq al-Awsat reported that Asghari is being questioned by intelligence personnel before being transferred to the United States.
Asghari was supposed to arrive at an Istanbul hotel nearly a month ago after being in Damascus but several reports said he never arrived.
Iran's top police chief said Tuesday he thought Asghari was abducted by Western intelligence services, an Iranian news agency reported.
Iran's top police chief, Gen. Esmaeil Ahmadi Moghaddam, said Iran was investigating the fate of Asghari through the Turkish police.
"It is likely that Asghari has been abducted by the Western intelligence services," IRNA quoted the Iranian police general as saying. The general did not elaborate.
In Turkey, the Interior Ministry said Tuesday it was investigating the matter, but would not confirm or deny that Asghari had disappeared or been kidnapped.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry had asked the Interior Ministry to investigate following a report from the Iranian Embassy in Ankara.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
The movie is TOPAZ by Alfred Hitchcock...
Wooo-hooo! Finally. Score one for Western intel and Mossad.
ga ping
What a coupe! Look for a Hillary-esque attack on this guys creditability.
Who is that?
Good news bump.
Dog: what is your take on this?
But how could they ignore one from him?
Paint him as a Bush toady. The demoncraps and drive-by media would be more than glad to do their part.
Sure will be a relief if it's true.
Best guess
Wolf, you, I and everybody else who has been paying at least half-hearted attention to current events in the region knows that there is a "boiling" point that is rapidly approaching with regards to Iran and Ahmadinajab, so this could very well be 'not-so-wild' speculation on your part - let's just hope that all of our ducks are in a row before your 'speculation' may come to fruition ;)
When someone this high up goes missing its all smoke and mirrors.
Either this guy wasn't involved in the Karbala killings, or the media is using the wrong term saying that he defected. We don't give asylum and sanctuary to someone who kidnaps and kills 5 of our guys.
We should be very careful that he may have been sent for deception purposes, but I hope that he really defected and he is going to “SPEAK UP”.
I pray that he's safe and this story is basically true - except for the part about US intelligence being more or less in the dark.
If true, I don't want him here, walking around Disney Land. I hope we get what we need and seclude him somewhere.
Hmmmm....correction: I pray he's safe and that this story is true. Safe enough to spill everything he knows.
If he's being held by Jack Bauer his bowling career is over.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.