1982 kidnapping of Iranian diplomats: Difference between revisions
Hatem said something else (he had blamed Hobeika earlier) |
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===Death speculation=== |
===Death speculation=== |
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According to Geagea, the Iranians died some time after their capture.<ref name="pb">{{cite web|last1=Sahimi|first1=Mohammad|title=The Fog over the 1983 Beirut Attacks|url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2009/10/the-1983-beirut-bombing-attack.html|accessdate=19 May 2016|website=[[Frontline (U.S. TV series)|FRONTLINE]] – Tehran Bureau|date=24 October 2009}}</ref> Ali Qusair, a journalist from the Iranian-based [[Press TV]] and Sayyed Raed Mousavi, son of the kidnapped Sayyed Mohsen Mousavi, had an interview with [[Karim Pakradouni]], former head of Phalangists. Referring to his conversation with [[Assaad Chaftari]], a senior intelligence official of Lebanese Forces, Pakradouni believed that the abducted diplomats could have been killed before reaching [[Karantina]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Iranian hostages were killed in Barbarah-Karantina way|url=http://www.mashreghnews.ir/fa/news/21729/%DA%AF%D8%B1%D9%88%DA%AF%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A-%D8%A8%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%87-%D9%88-%DA%A9%D8%B1%D9%86%D8%AA%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%A7-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%A8%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%B1%D9%81%D8%AA%D9%87-%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AF|accessdate=22 June 2016|work=[[Mashregh News]]|date=2010|language=fa}}</ref> Hobeika's security chief in the early 1980s, Robert Hatem, who was code-named Cobra, accused Hobeika of "kidnapping and murder[ing] four Iranian diplomats in 1982," in his published biography of Hobeika.<ref>{{cite web|title=Elie Hobeika's Assassination: Covering Up the Secrets of Sabra and Shatilla|url=http://www.jcpa.org/art/brief1-17.htm|website=[[Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs]]|accessdate=23 June 2016|date=30 January 2002}}</ref> According to [[Ronen Bergman]] in his book ''The Secret War with Iran'', Hatem told Israeli agents in 1993 and 2000 that he himself had probably killed at least one of the Iranians, Ahmad Motevasselian, and that he could clearly remember the Iranians' execution.<ref name="secret war"/> The Israeli newspaper [[Haaretz]] said that it was believed that they were then buried at a site where construction later obliterated their graves.<ref name="Ha-Reu"/> |
According to Geagea, the Iranians died some time after their capture.<ref name="pb">{{cite web|last1=Sahimi|first1=Mohammad|title=The Fog over the 1983 Beirut Attacks|url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2009/10/the-1983-beirut-bombing-attack.html|accessdate=19 May 2016|website=[[Frontline (U.S. TV series)|FRONTLINE]] – Tehran Bureau|date=24 October 2009}}</ref> Ali Qusair, a journalist from the Iranian-based [[Press TV]] and Sayyed Raed Mousavi, son of the kidnapped Sayyed Mohsen Mousavi, had an interview with [[Karim Pakradouni]], former head of Phalangists. Referring to his conversation with [[Assaad Chaftari]], a senior intelligence official of Lebanese Forces, Pakradouni believed that the abducted diplomats could have been killed before reaching [[Karantina]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Iranian hostages were killed in Barbarah-Karantina way|url=http://www.mashreghnews.ir/fa/news/21729/%DA%AF%D8%B1%D9%88%DA%AF%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A-%D8%A8%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%87-%D9%88-%DA%A9%D8%B1%D9%86%D8%AA%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%A7-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%A8%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%B1%D9%81%D8%AA%D9%87-%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AF|accessdate=22 June 2016|work=[[Mashregh News]]|date=2010|language=fa}}</ref> Hobeika's security chief in the early 1980s, Robert Hatem, who was code-named Cobra, accused Hobeika of "kidnapping and murder[ing] four Iranian diplomats in 1982," in his published biography of Hobeika.<ref>{{cite web|title=Elie Hobeika's Assassination: Covering Up the Secrets of Sabra and Shatilla|url=http://www.jcpa.org/art/brief1-17.htm|website=[[Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs]]|accessdate=23 June 2016|date=30 January 2002}}</ref> According to [[Ronen Bergman]] in his book ''The Secret War with Iran'', Hatem told Israeli agents in 1993 and 2000 that he himself had probably killed at least one of the Iranians, Ahmad Motevasselian, and that he could clearly remember the Iranians' execution. Hatem is described as sketching the electrical torture tool for the Iranians. "Right at the beginning, we found that one of them spoke Arabic. I don't know why but they killed him right away," said Hatem according to Bergman.<ref name="secret war"/> The Israeli newspaper [[Haaretz]] said that it was believed that they were then buried at a site where construction later obliterated their graves.<ref name="Ha-Reu"/> |
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==Political response== |
==Political response== |
Revision as of 12:28, 3 August 2017
Date | 4 July 1982 |
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Location | al-Barbareh, Lebanon |
Missing | Ahmad Motevaselian, Seyed Mohsen Mousavi, Taghi Rastegar Moghadam, Kazem Akhavan |
Inquiries | Lebanese government, Iranian government, Sayyed Raed Mousavi, Nazih Mansour |
Suspects | Lebanese Phalange forces |
Accused | Phalange forces (accused of killing the abductees), Israel (accused of detaining the abductees) |
Three Iranian diplomats as well as a reporter of Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) were abducted in Lebanon on 4 July 1982.[1] None of them have been seen since.[2] The missing individuals are Ahmad Motevaselian, military attaché for Iran's embassy in Beirut; Seyed Mohsen Mousavi, chargé d'affaires at the embassy; Taghi Rastegar Moghadam, an embassy employee; and Kazem Akhavan, IRNA photojournalist.[3] Motevaselian was also an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) member in command of an Iranian expeditionary force in Lebanon.
They were stopped at a checkpoint in northern Lebanon by Lebanese Phalange forces commanded by Samir Geagea.[4] Speculation about their fate has circulated since their abduction. Iranian officials believe that they were handed over to Israel after they were kidnapped and are still alive and being held in Israeli territory.[5][3] Israel believes that the diplomats were executed by Phalange shortly after their abduction.[6]
Both the Iranian and Lebanese governments have tried to gain information about their whereabouts.[6] According to Nazih Mansour, former member of the Lebanese parliament, the case has turned into a political issue, rather than a judicial one since some of the involved people such as Samir Geagea have become political figures.[7]
Background
During the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, Ahmad Motevaselian, a military attaché for Iran's embassy in Beirut; Seyed Mohsen Mousavi, chargé d'affaires at the embassy; and Taghi Rastegar Moghadam, an embassy employee, were sent on diplomatic mission to Lebanon[8] along with Kazem Akhavan, an IRNA photojournalist covering the events in Lebanon. According to US and Israeli sources Motevaselian was in command of the IRGC expeditionary force supporting Shia militias like Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley to fight against the Israeli invasion.[9][10][11][12]
Ahmad Motevaselian was the most well-known of the abductees because of his service in the Iran-Iraq war. The 27th Mohammad Rasoul-Allah Brigade, under his command, played an important role in Liberation of Khorramshahr, a "turning point" in the war.[8] According to Mohsen Rezai, currently secretary of the Expediency Council, he had been chosen to lead the Iranian expeditionary force in Lebanon because of his success in crushing the 1979 Kurdish rebellion in Iran.[13]
Lebanese Phalanges Party was an a Christian militia operating in Lebanon at the time, allied to Israel.[10] Israeli-Phalange relations began 1948 and reached its climax in mid-1970s.[14] At the time of the kidnapping, Israel was besieging west of Beirut.[15]
Kidnapping
Amid the Israel invasion of Lebanon in 1982,[16] the four Iranian diplomats were traveling from Iran's embassy in Damascus to Beirut.[17][18] On the highway between Jounieh and Beirut,[15] after reaching the al-Barbareh checkpoint in northern Lebanon,[1][10][19] Lebanese Phalange forces headed by Samir Geagea stopped and detained the diplomats.[4] According to the Rai al-Youm on-line newspaper, Biar Rizq, known as 'Akram', and Abdeh Raji, known as 'Captain', were involved in the abduction,[20] with the latter commanding the checkpoint.[15]
The abducted individuals were reportedly imprisoned under the supervision of Elie Hobeika, then a Phalangist, in Karantina, Beirut for 20 days[21][22]and were moved to the Adonis prison in Beirut.[22]
Fate of abducted diplomats
Israeli detention speculation
In the aftermath of the incident, Iran accused Israel of kidnapping and holding the diplomats in their jails, and called on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to clarify their whereabouts.[5] In November 1994, Iranian ambassador in Lebanon, Homyaun alizadeh, said that the four abductees were held alive in Israeli prisons.[15] Similarly, Ghazanfar Roknabadi, former Iranian ambassador in Lebanon, said that there were "concrete evidences" proving that they were alive, held in Israel.[3][23] The assertion was repeated years later by Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah resistance movement,[24] Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's ex-president,[25] and Iran's Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehghan.[8]
In 1997 the Prisoners' Friends Association, an Israel-based prisoners' aid organization, said that a released prisoner had seen the four disappeared Iranians in Atlit Prison in Israel two years previously, which was denied by a spokesman for the Israeli Prime Minister.[26] Israel has said it does not know what happened to the diplomats and that it believes that they were kidnapped by a Lebanese militant group and executed shortly after their abduction.[6] According to the Iranian Fars News Agency, Israel has made contradictory comments on the issue by rejecting the allegation of diplomats being surrendered to it, and saying that they are already dead.[27] Elie Hobeika had an interview with the London-based Al-Wasat magazine which was published on 31 August 1997. According to IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting), the interview indicates [clarification needed] the abduction of the diplomats and their handing over to Israel by Geagea's group.[28] The group was known for its close ties with Israel and for handing over many Lebanese and foreigners to Israel during its invasion of Lebanon.[4]
Later in 2016, according to a report by the London-based pan-Arab daily Rai al-Youm,[20] translated to English by Fars News Agency, a recently released Greek prisoner from Israeli jails informed the Iranian embassy in Athens that he had seen the four abducted individuals alive in Israeli jails. The report also said that Ahmad Habibollah Abu Hesham, known as a "spiritual father" of prisoners of Israeli jails, had made a similar comment that Motavesellian and the others were alive in Atlit detainee camp after visiting and inspecting prisoners in Israeli jails. Abu Hesham died in what Rai al-Youm said was a "made up accident by Israel."[29]
Death speculation
According to Geagea, the Iranians died some time after their capture.[30] Ali Qusair, a journalist from the Iranian-based Press TV and Sayyed Raed Mousavi, son of the kidnapped Sayyed Mohsen Mousavi, had an interview with Karim Pakradouni, former head of Phalangists. Referring to his conversation with Assaad Chaftari, a senior intelligence official of Lebanese Forces, Pakradouni believed that the abducted diplomats could have been killed before reaching Karantina.[31] Hobeika's security chief in the early 1980s, Robert Hatem, who was code-named Cobra, accused Hobeika of "kidnapping and murder[ing] four Iranian diplomats in 1982," in his published biography of Hobeika.[32] According to Ronen Bergman in his book The Secret War with Iran, Hatem told Israeli agents in 1993 and 2000 that he himself had probably killed at least one of the Iranians, Ahmad Motevasselian, and that he could clearly remember the Iranians' execution. Hatem is described as sketching the electrical torture tool for the Iranians. "Right at the beginning, we found that one of them spoke Arabic. I don't know why but they killed him right away," said Hatem according to Bergman.[15] The Israeli newspaper Haaretz said that it was believed that they were then buried at a site where construction later obliterated their graves.[6]
Political response
In 2016, Adnan Mansour, minister of foreign affairs and emigrants, stated that Iran had not stopped investigating the fate of the diplomats. He stated that the Lebanese government was responsible in the first step, because the abduction had occurred in Lebanese territory. Nazih Mansour, former member of the Lebanese parliament, had been the official lawyer of one of the families. Speaking to IRNA, he said that the progress of the case in Lebanese courts was very slow. Mansour also said that after so many years, the case had turned into a political issue rather than a judicial one.[7]
In 2014 Mohammad Fathali, Iranian Ambassador to Beirut,[33] said that Iran has seen no serious action by the international community and human rights bodies regarding abduction of the Iranian diplomats in Lebanon and their fate.[27] In a statement issued in 2015, Iran expressed appreciation for efforts by the Lebanese government and international figures, including a 2008 letter from Lebanon to UN confirming the abduction, to bring international attention to this case.[4]
Hezbollah had included the fate of the diplomats in indirect negotiations for a prisoner exchange with the Israelis after the 2006 war[34] and as terms of the deal, Israel agreed to give a report on the fate of the four Iranians kidnapped and allegedly murdered.[6]
Commemoration
The disappearance of the abducted diplomats is commemorated in Iran[35] and Beirut.[34]
See also
References
- ^ a b Staff writers. "Islamic Revolution Document Center – Iranian Diplomats kidnapping by Israeli agents in Lebanon". www.irdc.ir. Archived from the original on 3 August 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ Staff. "Berri meets families of kidnapped Iranian diplomats". The Daily Star. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
- ^ a b c "Envoy: Iranian abducted diplomats alive in Israel". Al-Alam. 5 July 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
- ^ a b c d "Tehran Urges UN to Pursue Fate of Iranian Diplomats Abducted by Israel". Tasnim News Agency. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
- ^ a b "Iran urges UN to pursue issue of diplomats abducted in Lebanon". www.irdiplomacy.ir. No. Iran Diplomacy. 4 July 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
- ^ a b c d e Stern, Yoav (1 July 2008). "Lebanon: Hezbollah Prisoner Swap Marks 'Failure' for Israel". Haaretz. Reuters. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
- ^ a b "Release the four Iranian kidnapped diplomats, an endless hope". IRNA (in Persian). Retrieved 19 May 2016.
- ^ a b c Karami, Arash (25 May 2016). "Tehran accuses Israel of holding four Iranians who disappeared 34 years ago". Al-Monitor. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
- ^ Crenshaw, Martha (2010). Terrorism in Context. Penn State Press. p. 586. ISBN 9780271044422.
- ^ a b c Boustany, Nora (4 May 1990). "U.S. a 'stubborn' child, Iranian President says". Washington Post.
- ^ Shapira, Shimon (18 November 2013). "Iran's New Defense Minister: Behind the 1983 Attack on the U.S. Marine Corps Barracks in Beirut". Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.
- ^ Qureshi, Muhammad A (4 December 2014). "Understanding the Iran-Hezbollah Nexus from the Perspective of Operational Art" (Document). School of Advanced Military Studies. pp. 1–2.
{{cite document}}
: Unknown parameter|url=
ignored (help) - ^ Alfoneh, Ali (24 January 2011). "Brigadier General Qassem Suleimani: A Biography". American Enterprise Institute.
- ^ Black, Ian; Morris, Benny (1991). Israel's Secret Wars: A History of Israel's Intelligence Services. Grove Press. ISBN 9780802132864. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Bergman, Ronen (2008). The Secret War with Iran: The 30-Year Clandestine Struggle Against the World's Most Dangerous Terrorist Power. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781416564904. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
- ^ "Iranians kidnapped in Lebanon in 1982 in Israel: Ahmadinejad". The Daily Star Newspaper. 26 September 2011.(subscription required)
- ^ "The Islamic Republic News Agency Saturday called on international..." UPI. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ^ Fathi, Hasan ali. "Akhavan, us and others". Islamic Republic News Agency. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ^ Hatem, Robert Maroun (1999). "6". From Israel to Damascus : the painful road of blood, betrayal, and deception (1st ed. ed.). United States: Pride International Pub. ISBN 0964430436. Archived from the original on 5 July 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
{{cite book}}
:|edition=
has extra text (help); Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ a b Jamil, Yasin. "Iranian officer, who announced he was kidnapped in Israel and one of the four diplomats were abducted in 1982 from Lebanon .. and Israel assassinated the Palestinian leader tried to reveal the details of their abduction". Ray al-Youm (in Arabic). Retrieved 22 June 2016.
- ^ "Iran said that four Iranians kidnapped in 1982 are alive". Daily Star. Archived from the original on 5 July 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Thirty years with hands closed; A narration from the life of the four diplomats" (in Persian). Fars News Agency. 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
- ^ "Abadi: Four kidnapped Iranian diplomats are still alive in Israel". MTV Lebanon. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
- ^ "Nasrallah: Israel has Iranian diplomats". PressTV. 29 January 2009. Retrieved 22 June 2016.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Kahn, Gabe. "A-Jad: Israel Holding Iranian Diplomats Since 1982". Arutz Sheva. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
- ^ "ISRAEL/SOUTH LEBANON; Israel's Forgotten Hostages: Lebanese Detainees in Israel and Khiam Detention Centre". Amnesty International.
- ^ a b "Envoy: Iran Not to Give Up Pursuit into Fate of 4 Abducted Diplomats". FARS News Agency. 12 July 2014. – via General OneFile (subscription required)
- ^ Aminzadeh, Jamshid. "4 July 1982, the anniversary of Iranian diplomats abduction in Lebanon". IRIB World Service (in Persian). Retrieved 22 June 2016.
- ^ "Recently Freed Greek Prisoner: 4 Iranian Diplomats Alive in Israel's Jail". Fars News Agency. 31 May 2016.
- ^ Sahimi, Mohammad (24 October 2009). "The Fog over the 1983 Beirut Attacks". FRONTLINE – Tehran Bureau. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
- ^ "Iranian hostages were killed in Barbarah-Karantina way". Mashregh News (in Persian). 2010. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
- ^ "Elie Hobeika's Assassination: Covering Up the Secrets of Sabra and Shatilla". Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. 30 January 2002. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
- ^ "Iranians kidnapped in 1982 believed to be alive in Israel". The Daily Star. 24 June 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2016. – via General OneFile (subscription required)
- ^ a b Staff writers. "Kidnapped Iranian diplomats remembered in Lebanon". Press TV. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
- ^ "Salehi calls on UN to establish committee on abducted Iranian diplomats". Mehr News Agency. 10 July 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
External links
- 1982 Iranian diplomats kidnapping
- Lebanese Civil War
- Terrorist incidents in 1982
- Politics of Iran
- Israeli–Lebanese conflict
- Diplomatic incidents
- 1982 in Iran
- 1982 crimes in Lebanon
- 1982 in Israel
- Iran–Lebanon relations
- Iran–Israel relations
- Diplomatic immunity and protection
- Attacks on diplomatic missions in Lebanon
- Attacks on diplomatic missions of Iran
- Kidnappings in Lebanon
- Kidnapped Iranian people
- Kidnapped diplomats
- July 1982 events