TEHRAN Western intelligence agencies may have kidnapped a former Iranian deputy defence minister who went missing in Turkey, according to the police chief of Iran.

General Ali Reza Asgari disappeared after arriving in Istanbul from Damascus on a personal trip last month, Ismail Ahmad-Moghaddam said. “It is possible that Asgari was kidnapped by Western intelligence services because of his Defence Ministry background,” the police chief said. Turkish media reported that General Asgari had checked into an Istanbul hotel on February 7.

Unnamed officials told the newspaper Milliyet that the general had information on Iran’s nuclear plans.

“A man with nuclear information would be a valuable asset for the CIA and Mossad,” Alon Ben-David, Israel analyst for Jane’s Defence Weekly, said. Other experts said that the general may have defected. (Reuters)

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