Region | Iran
Ex-security official may have defected, say friends
After months of confusion over the fate of a former Revolutionary Guard commander missing since December, friends and former officials in Tehran are concluding that he has defected to foreign intelligence services.
- By Najmeh Bozorgmehr and Gareth Smyth, Financial Times
- Published: 00:00 April 26, 2007
Tehran: After months of confusion over the fate of a former Revolutionary Guard commander missing since December, friends and former officials in Tehran are concluding that he has defected to foreign intelligence services.
They told the Financial Times that Ali Reza Asgari, 46, was frustrated and angry after spending about 18 months in jail between 2003 and 2005 on charges of espionage and corruption.
"He was cleared of all the charges but psychologically he became disturbed and unbalanced," said a former official, who played down Asgari's potential importance to the United States or Israeli intelligence services. He added that Asgari had been a distinguished Revolutionary Guard commander.
Speculations
A second official, who said he had seen Asgari just before he disappeared, agreed that he was "resentful about his arrest". He said Asgari retired five years ago as deputy defence minister and had become an importer of vegetable oil.
It was initially reported that Asgari, who served the previous government of Mohammad Khatami, had disappeared in February while on a trip to Istanbul.
Tehran had claimed that Asgari was kidnapped by US or Israeli intelligence services. But media reports have cited western or Israeli security officials as saying that he had defected along with his family.
A friend said Asgari had been released from jail thanks to "a lot of support" from Ali Shamkhani, the defence minister under whom he served. But the friend was not ready to explain further the charges brought.
"His arrest wasn't a smart move," said the friend. "The worst thing about this kind of move is the insecurity it can create among other security people."
The disappearance of a former FBI agent, Robert Levinson, in Iran has raised speculation that Tehran might try to swap Asgari for Levinson. Both Iran and the United States deny any knowledge of the whereabouts of the two men.
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