Iran Holds Zionist Regime Responsible for Abduction of Diplomats

In a statement issued on the anniversary of the kidnapping, the foreign ministry said that given the Zionist occupation of Lebanese territories at the time and the available intelligence that shows the diplomats were taken to Occupied Palestine, Iran underlines the full legal and political responsibility of the Zionist regime in this case.

On July 4, 1982, four Iranian diplomats- Ahmad Motevaselian, Seyyed Mohsen Mousavi, Taqi Rastegar Moqaddam and Kazem Akhavan- were abducted at a checkpoint in northern Lebanon by a group of gunmen belonging to Israel-backed militia forces headed by Samir Geagea.

The militia headed by Geagea was known for its close ties with Israel at the time and was responsible for handing over many Lebanese and foreigners to Israeli custody at the peak of the Zionist regime’s invasion of Lebanon.

Geagea has made contradictory statements concerning the Iranian diplomats, initially saying that his militia handed them to Israel and later claiming that they witnessed their killing inside Lebanon.

In its statement, the Iranian foreign ministry further appreciated the efforts made in the past years by the Lebanese government and some international bodies to determine the fate of the kidnapped diplomats, and called on the United Nations, International Committee of the Red Cross, and other relevant bodies to act on their legal and human responsibility in this case.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran once again underlines its proposal about the formation of an international fact-finding committee to shed light on different dimensions of this (kidnapping) incident,” the statement added.

The foreign ministry further hoped that all Muslim detainees, especially the four Iranian diplomats, will soon be freed from Zionist regime’s prisons and the criminal Zionist elements who carried out the abduction will be put on trial.