Former Iranian Defense Official Talks to Western Intelligence

[notworthabean]

Former Iranian Defense Official Talks to Western Intelligence - washingtonpost.com

A former Iranian deputy defense minister who once commanded the Revolutionary Guard has left his country and is cooperating with Western intelligence agencies, providing information on Hezbollah and Iran's ties to the organization, according to a senior U.S. official. Ali Rez Asgari disappeared last month during a visit to Turkey. Iranian officials suggested yesterday that he may have been kidnapped by Israel or the United States. The U.S. official said Asgari is willingly cooperating. He did not divulge Asgari's whereabouts or specify who is questioning him, but made clear that the information Asgari is offering is fully available to U.S. intelligence. Asgari served in the Iranian government until early 2005 under then-President Mohammad Khatami. Asgari's background suggests that he would have deep knowledge of Iran's national security infrastructure, conventional weapons arsenal and ties to Hezbollah in south Lebanon. Iranian officials said he was not involved in the country's nuclear program, and the senior U.S. official said Asgari is not being questioned about it. Former officers with Israel's Mossad spy agency said yesterday that Asgari had been instrumental in the founding of Hezbollah in the 1980s, around the time of the bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut.

good news, the Iranins are denying he knows anything, but if he didn't know squat they wouldn't care, which means he knows a lot.

unless hes a double agent, but the who knows in this kinda thing.

[The Decider]

Quote by: notworthabean Former Iranian Defense Official Talks to Western Intelligence - washingtonpost.com good news, the Iranins are denying he knows anything, but if he didn't know squat they wouldn't care, which means he knows a lot. unless hes a double agent, but the who knows in this kinda thing.

Considering our sordid experience with Iraqi expats like Achmad Chalabi, I'll take a wait and see approach to this story. "Western Intelligence" is something of an oxymoron these days.

[Clarence]

here comes another PR wave.

from the link

Former Mossad director Danny Yatom, who is now a member of Israel's parliament, said he believes Asgari defected to the West. "He is very high-caliber," Yatom said. "He held a very, very senior position for many long years in Lebanon. He was in effect commander of the Revolutionary Guards" there. Ram Igra, a former Mossad officer, said Asgari spent much of the 1980s and 1990s overseeing Iran's efforts to support, finance, arm and train Hezbollah. The State Department lists the Shiite Lebanese group as a terrorist organization.

so if these things Mossad is saying are true. Why would we accept his defection. This is a free agent comparable to Terrel Owens. Or even more like Chalabi.

Your 'good news' has the feel of grasping at straws. How do you neo-cons all know to come here before some marketing push? I'm sure you don't know why.

Let me guess. This Ali Rez Asgari is going to say Iran is funding terrorists making bombs for Iraq making nukes teaming up with N Korea and working for the ruskies on top of it all.

[notworthabean]

Quote by: The Decider Considering our sordid experience with Iraqi expats like Achmad Chalabi, I'll take a wait and see approach to this story. "Western Intelligence" is something of an oxymoron these days.

theres a vast differnece. chalabi was an expat of some 20 years, this guy is fresh out of iran who defected while visiting turkey briefly. the differneces are quite stark.

and I don't come here for a big PR push, im something of a regular.

also Iran does work with terroirst (both hezbollah and shi'ite gurellias in iraq) and probably has worked with Nork (or moore liely paki) nuke scietnsists in the recent past, and it is defiently working with russia as russia is openly suppplying them with nuclear parts.

[Rainbow]

A former Iranian deputy defense minister who once commanded the Revolutionary Guard has left his country and is cooperating with Western intelligence agencies, providing information on Hezbollah and Iran's ties to the organization, according to a senior U.S. official. Ali Rez Asgari disappeared last month during a visit to Turkey. Iranian officials suggested yesterday that he may have been kidnapped by Israel or the United States. The U.S. official said Asgari is willingly cooperating. He did not divulge Asgari's whereabouts or specify who is questioning him, but made clear that the information Asgari is offering is fully available to U.S. intelligence.

A headache.