Iranian diplomats kidnapping (1982)
| Date | 4 July 1982 |
|---|---|
| Location | al-Barbareh, Lebanon |
| Missing | Ahmad Motevaselian, Seyed Mohsen Mousavi, Taghi Rastegar Moghadam, Kazem Akhavan |
| Inquiries | Lebanese government, Iranian government, Sayyed Raed Mousavi, Nazih Mansour |
| Suspect(s) | Lebanese Phalange forces |
| Accused | Phalange forces (accused of killing the abductees), Israel (accused of detaining the abductees) |
Three Iranian diplomats as well as a reporter of Islamic Republic of Iran News Agency were abducted in Lebanon on 4 July 1982. None of them have been seen since. The missing individuals are Ahmad Motevaselian, military attaché for Iran's embassy in Beirut; Seyed Mohsen Mousavi, chargé d'affaires at the embassy; Taghi Rastegar Moghadam, an embassy employee and Kazem Akhavan, IRNA photojournalist. They were stopped at a checkpoint in northern Lebanon by Lebanese Phalange forces commanded by Samir Geagea. Speculation about their fate has circulated since their abduction. Iranian officials believe that they were handed over to Israel after they were kidnapped and are still alive and being held in Israeli territory. Israel believes that the diplomats were executed by Phalange shortly after their abduction.
Both the Iranian and Lebanese governments have tried to gain information about their whereabouts. According to Nazih Mansour, former member of the Lebanese parliament, the case has turned into a political issue, rather than a judicial one.
During the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, Ahmad Motevaselian, a military attaché for Iran's embassy in Beirut; Seyed Mohsen Mousavi, chargé d'affaires at the embassy; and Taghi Rastegar Moghadam, an embassy employee, were sent on diplomatic mission to Lebanon along with Kazem Akhavan, an IRNA photojournalist covering the events in Lebanon. They were sent from Iran's embassy in Damascus. According to US and Israeli sources Motevaselian was in command of the IRGC expeditionary force supporting Shia militias like Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley to fight against the Israeli invasion.
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