Asgari: How much else is false?

All the earlier reports I read said that Asgari had smuggled his family out of Iran. They are still in Iran and paint a very different picture of what might have happened. Of course the wife will have her reasons for saying this but given that western reports lied about the family being smuggled out and are just reporting what officials tell them it is hard to know what the real story is.

Missing Iranian general’s family suspects Israel


Family of Ali Reza Asgari, Iran’s former deputy defense minister who disappeared from Turkey last month, visits Turkish embassy in Tehran demanding information on his whereabouts. Asgari’s wife rejects reports he defected to West, smuggled family out of Iran: ‘We are here, those are our enemies lies’

Dudi Cohen Published: 03.12.07, 19:09 / Israel News




The family of Ali Reza Asgari , the Iranian general and former deputy defense minister who disappeared from Turkey last month, snubbed recent newspaper reports claiming he defected to the West and insisted instead that he was kidnapped by foreign agents.



His wife Ziba Asgari, 46, contended Western reports that Asgari was a spy and smuggled his family out of Iran prior to his escape. “We are here. Those are mere rumors being spread by the enemies,” she said. Suspected Spy

Defector spied on Iran for years - report / Ynetnews

Sunday Times quotes Iranian sources as saying that the general who defected to West last month had been spying on Iran since 2003; his escape took several months to arrange, they add. ‘He probably was working for Mossad,’ Israeli defense official says. Asgari believed to be undergoing debriefing at Nato base in Germany
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His 20-year-old daughter Alham told journalists she was certain Israel or the United States kidnapped him, as they are Iran’s main enemies. “My father worked hard for the regime and he had many enemies due to his position,” she was quoted by Fars, the Iranian news agency.



According to the Fars report, Asgari’s wife, two daughters, son and brother arrived at the Turkish embassy in Tehran Monday seeking information on his whereabouts and met with Deputy Ambassador Dorim Ozturk.



Asgari’s brother demanded answers from the Turkish representatives, who noted that the matter was being examined and vowed to help as much as they could.



“We tried to check for ourselves if there was any new news. We’re very concerned. I really miss my father,” Alham told reporters.



Ziba, 46, said the since her husband retired from military positions, he was an olive and olive oil merchant in Syria . She said the family had last been in contact with him in December.



On December 7, she said, Asgari traveled from Damascus to Istanbul and checked into a hotel. Two days later, they lost contact with him.



“We were in touch with him until Friday, December 8, but on Saturday, we lost contact. His cell phone was turned off and we started to be concerned,” Ziba said.



She rejected outright various reports that her husband defected to the West after smuggling his family to a safe place.



“He had no problems in Iran that would make him want to escape. Someone seeking refuge takes his family with him,” she said.



Suspected spy

On Sunday the British newspaper The Sunday Times reported that Asgari had been spying on Iran since 2003 when he was recruited on an overseas business trip.




Asgari, 63, was apparently at a NATO base in Germany undergoing a debriefing, the report said.



According to the Times, a daring getaway via Damascus was organized by western intelligence agencies after it became clear that his cover was about to be blown. Iran’s notorious secret service, the Vavak, is believed to have suspected that he was a high-level mole, the report said.




London-based Asharq al-Awsat newspaper reported Friday that upon his disappearance Asgari was carrying documents and maps that shed light on Iran’s military and the Revolutionary Guards' links to Hizbullah , Islamic Jihad, the “Mahadi Army” and the “Badr Corps” (military forces of The Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq).



Last week an official American intelligence source told the Washington Post that Israel had orchestrated Asgari’s defection to the West and that he was was cooperating with his questioners and divulging classified information on Iran.