Legal committee established to pursue former Iranian deputy defense minister case

TEHRAN, Jan.9 (MNA)--Iranian acting Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi announced that a legal committee has been established in the Foreign Ministry to seriously pursue the case of former Iranian deputy defense minister Alireza Asgari who has reportedly died in detention in Israel.

Zionist sources have claimed that Asgari had committed suicide in a solitary confinement in Israel’s Ayalon prison, but there are reports that spy agency Mossad has killed Asgari.

The Zionist media outlets had previously claimed that Asgari defected to the West and was granted asylum in a Western country. But, Iran says Asgari was abducted by Mossad agents in Turkey on December 9, 2006.

“We will follow this case up by using the legal documents we have recently received,” Salehi said in a meeting with Asgari’s family members on Saturday.

He expressed hope that the committee’s efforts would yield good results.

He also said that according to some reliable information, Asgari has been abducted by the Zionist regime’s intelligence agents.

He went on to say that it is the Foreign Ministry’s obligation to defend the Iranian citizens’ rights, so the Foreign Ministry sent letters to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and International Committee of the Red Cross President Jakob Kellenberger urging them to take action to determine the fate of Asgari.

Fortunately, the ICRC has responded positively to Iran’s call and promised to take necessary measures in this regard, he explained.