Israel Matzav

Report: Mystery of Ron Arad's disappearance to be resolved soon - UPDATED

The Kuwaiti newspaper A-Siyassah is reporting that two mysteries will be resolved in the near future. One is the disappearance of four Iranian diplomats in Beirut in 1982. The other is the fate of Israeli Air Force Navigator Ron Arad. Arad was captured in Lebanon after ejecting from his Phantom jet in 1986, and has been missing ever since (link in Hebrew).

The report is based on 'western intelligence sources' and has not been officially confirmed. It says that both mysteries will be resolved 'in an incontrovertible manner.'

In 2009, Israeli intelligence said that it believed that Arad had died in Lebanon in the mid-90's.

A-Siyassah has reported about Arad before.

What makes this report plausible is the fact that the West has had someone connected to both incidents under its control for six years now: Iranian defector Ali Reza Asgari.

Hmmm.

UPDATE 8:20 PM

 JPost reports that the two mysteries are connected - it's an exchange of information.

Al-Siyasa reported that the deal became possible due to new information on Arad given to Western intelligence officials by Hussein Musawi, the brother of one of the four missing Iranian diplomats.

A former Iranian Foreign Ministry official, Musawi is believed to be one of the few people who know the fate of Arad.

In an interesting twist, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech on Monday that the group had to deal with the missing persons, including the four Iranian diplomats.

"There are 17 thousand missing persons due to the Israeli occupation, including the four Iranian diplomats along with other people during the Lebanese war," he said.

Bigger hmmmm.

Labels: Beirut, Hezbullah, IAF, Iran, Lebanon, Ron Arad

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:19 PM