Diplomats Kidnapped in Lebanon in 1982 Are in Israeli Prison, Iran Says

In a statement released on Sunday, July 3, to mark the 34th anniversary of the kidnapping of the four diplomats in Lebanon, the Ministry said Iranian nation and families of kidnapped diplomats are still waiting for them.

The statement thanked the efforts made by the Lebanese government and relevant bodies to pursue the case, and asked UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other human rights bodies to fulfil their undertakings and impose pressure on the Zionist regime of Israel in a bid to pave the ground for their freedom.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran reiterates its previous proposal for the establishment of a fact-finding committee to further clarify different aspects of the case,” the statement underlined.

Earlier in June, Secretary of Iran’s Expediency Council Mohsen Rezaei had said that the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) is involved in security and intelligence activities to free four Iranian diplomats.

The information provided by the country’s security and intelligence services suggests that the diplomats are alive, he noted.

In July 1982, four Iranian diplomats, the then charge d’affaires of the Iranian Embassy in Beirut Seyed Mohsen Mousavi, military attaché Ahmad Motevasselian, embassy technician Taghi Rastegar Moghaddam and journalist of the Islamic republic news agency Kazzem Akhavan were abducted at a checkpoint in northern Lebanon.

Their vehicle was passing through a checkpoint post on its way to Beirut when it was intercepted by the Phalange Party, a group of gunmen belonging to Israel-backed militia forces headed by Samir Geagea.

The car and four passengers, completely disappeared.

The militia headed by Geagea was known for its close ties with Israel at the time and was responsible for handing over many Lebanese and foreigners to Israeli custody at the peak of the Zionist regime’s invasion of Lebanon.

Geagea has made contradictory statements concerning the Iranian diplomats, initially saying that his militia handed them to Israel and later claiming that they witnessed their killing inside Lebanon.