Iran accuses Israel of kidnapping four diplomats in 1982

Iran’s Defence Minister Hossein Dehghan yesterday accused Israel of kidnapping four Iranian diplomats in Lebanon in 1982 adding that the four men are still alive.

Iran’s Tasnim News Agency reported Dehghan as saying: “There are documents proving that Charge d’Affaires [of the Iranian Embassy in Beirut] Seyed Mohsen Mousavi, Military Attaché Ahmad Motevaselian, embassy technician Taqi Rastegar Moghadam and journalist of the Islamic Republic News Agency Kazzem Akhavan are still alive in Israel.”

Dehghan held Israel responsible for the safety and security of the four men saying that Tehran “will use legal and political means to release them”.

Mousavi, Motevaselian, Moghadam and Akhavan disappeared during the 1982 Lebanese civil war.