Posted on 03/07/2007 8:33:56 PM PST by bnelson44
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.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
If he confirms Iran is fielding and supplying combatants that are killing US forces -- what then?
This could be explosive . . .
Orrrrrrr......maybe the Russians are the ones who really have him.
Work with me here! I'm trying to start rumors!
THe libs, democrats, and Iranians will all come out and say he's lying or said this while being tortured by the US government.
Well, I did hear that they're plying him for info by playing recordings of Barbara Streisand giving her opinions on all the important issues of the day until he talks . . . so they may just have a point!
Y'know, that makes me wonder. They say they're against torture, but if it were, say, Cheney, or GW, or Ann Coulter -- would they approve of the torture, suddenly!?
Yes, that was Vitaly Yurchenko. Much of that happened in Georgetown. I remember that ridiculous press conference where he insisted on speaking in Russian because he had been forced to use English while "in captivity" of the CIA.
Good news! Why isn't Hassan Nasrallah dead yet?
Fyi..
WOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO!!!
The plot thickens....
What this means is he is with another country's intelligence agency...we know where he is but were not in on his defection/kidnap...
Am I reading this right?
Hope Joe Wilson isn't interviewing him!
Pray for W and Our Troops
Essentially that is how I would read this, but I think they are being very careful about their words and they may be true, but designed to mislead the Iranian government, or give them cause to wonder what actually happened.
*************************EXCERPT************************
Soon after his disappearance was discovered, Iran dispatched an operations team to Ankara to help the Turkish authorities to look for him. At the same time, a public relations campaign was launched with Iranian minister Mottaki has doing his best to downplay Asgari’s importance as an official in order to reduce the damage to the Iranian government’s image.
He wasn’t fooling anyone. It is clear that Asgari is a man privy to numerous secrets which Iran desperately does not want revealed. As well as being a former deputy defence Minister, Asgari was also a General in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC). The IRGC, more than any other branch of Iran’s armed forces, is aware of, and has access to Iran’s nuclear program. Its members are in charge of monitoring and protecting Iran’s nuclear installations, and scientists.
Furthermore, the IRGC is in charge of developing and testing Iran’s missiles, an arsenal which Iran has threatened to use if attacked. Last but not least, the IRGC is in charge of training and arming Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Iraqi Shiite militants in Iraq.
BTTT
Goody.
Missing Iranian Official Not Cooperating With U.S., Official Says
With any luck, Ahmadangnutjob and co. are as confused as I am...
Did top Iranian general defect?
And ***********
Haaretz reports that Arab media says Gen. Ali Reza Asghari, who went missing last month in Turkey, is currently being questioned in a "northern European country" before going to the United States.
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