Ali-Reza Asgari | |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | Reza Chieftain[1] |
Born | Ardestan, Iran | November 1, 1952
Disappeared | (aged 54) |
Service | Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps |
Rank | Brigadier general |
Unit | Quds Force |
Battles / wars | |
Other work | Vice Minister of Defense for Logistics |
Ali-Reza Asgari (Persian: علیرضا عسگری, born 1 November 1952) is an Iranian who served as a general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps,[2] as deputy defense minister, and as a cabinet member of Iranian President Mohammad Khatami.[3]
Asgari had been "pushed aside" from his ministerial role after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a former rival, came into power in 2005.[4] Asgari disappeared in Turkey in early 2007, and news reports indicate that he either defected to, or was kidnapped[5] by, Western intelligence agencies. His disappearance has also led to reports that Iran would retaliate by kidnapping American or Israeli officials in Europe.[6] According to The Sunday Times, Asgari was described as a "gold mine for western intelligence" by an Israeli defence source who claimed that they had been following him since the 1980s.[4]
Sunday Times
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).