Iran urges Turkey action on Asgari case

Lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi has called on Turkish officials to take necessary measures regarding the abduction of Iranian national Ali Reza Asgari.

“Given the fact that Asgari was abducted on Turkish soil, and considering the friendly relations between Iran and Turkey, it is naturally expected of the Ankara government to help clarify the [different] aspects of this issue,” head of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission said on Sunday.

Asgari, a former deputy defense minister, mysteriously disappeared in Turkey in 2007. He was believed to have been abducted and transferred to Israel.

A report by the Israeli Ynet website last week stated that a prisoner had committed suicide in solitary confinement in Israel’s Ayalon prison.

The Eurasia Review website claimed that a source within the “inner circle” of the Israeli Defense Ministry had identified the prisoner as Asgari and that his death could have been a murder and not suicide.

Terrorists abducted Asgari from his hotel in Turkey, so “identifying the individuals who committed this act must not be complicated,” Mehr News Agency quoted Boroujerdi as saying.

“By carrying out the operation on the Turkish soil, the Zionists showed their animosity against Turkey and disrespect it and therefore the government of this country must properly react [to this incident],” the Iranian lawmaker said.

Boroujerdi said Iran’s Foreign Ministry has officially called on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to help clarify Asgari’s fate, adding that the country is waiting for the ICRC provide accurate information on the matter.