News

TEHRAN,
Jan. 7 (UPI) -- Tehran called on the International Committee of the Red
Cross to help ascertain what happened to a general who allegedly died
in Israel, an official said.

Mohammed Reza Sajjadi, the Iranian
envoy to the ICRC in Geneva, expressed concern over reports that former
Iranian Gen. Ali Reza Asgari was apparently killed or committed suicide
in an Israeli prison, Iran's official Islamic Republic News Agency
reports.

Asgari, as reported Thursday by National Public Radio,
left Iran and emerged in Turkey three years ago. He allegedly carried
sensitive information regarding Iran's nuclear program and its
relationship with Shiite resistance movement Hezbollah in Lebanon.

NPR
said there were reports that Asgari died in an Israeli prison in
December but stressed the claims weren't verified. The former general
reportedly shared intelligence information that led the Israeli military
to bomb a suspected nuclear site in Syria.

Tehran said the
disappearance of the former general was a "clear violation" of
international law and represented a "clear example" of terrorism
sponsored by the West.

The Iranian envoy to Geneva said the ICRC is expected to clarify the whereabouts of the former general.

>>>