Mossad abducted Iranian general in Turkey, tortured him for weeks before killing him: Report

Israel killed one Iranian general and tortured another, while Israeli strikes on a Lebanese village killed at least 41 people in search for missing Israeli pilot An Iranian walks over a flag depicting Israel and US during a rally in front of the former US embassy to mark the anniversary of the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, in Tehran on November 4, 2026. (Atta Kenare KENARE/AFP) Published date: 15 November 2026 22:34 GMT | Last update: 4 sec ago Israel kidnapped two Iranian officials and killed one of them in a decades-long search for an Israeli pilot whose fighter jet crashed in Lebanon while bombing the country in 1986, The New York Times reported on Sunday. Israeli pilot Ron Arad was bombing Lebanese villages in 1986 when one of his missiles malfunctioned, forcing him to eject from his fighter jet. Since then, Israel has been on a mission to find out what happened to Arad, leaving a trail of death and destruction in its wake which has left more than 40 people dead and dozens more wounded. The NYT said that the search for Arad was rooted in the "Jewish tradition" to bring its soldiers back to Israel. In December 2006, Alireza Asgari, a former general in the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), became one of the first victims. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Asgari, who had served as Iran's deputy defence minister, arrived in Istanbul, Turkey and checked into the Ceylan Hotel near Taksim. Shortly afterwards, Mossad agents kidnapped him, the NYT reported. Years later and tfter Iran requested information about Asgari's whereabouts, Israeli officials told their US counterparts that they had tortured him for several weeks, believing incorrectly he had information about Arad. Asgari knew nothing about the Israeli pilot, the Israeli spy agency concluded. Mossad agents killed Asgari anyway and dumped his body in the Black Sea, according to the NYT. At the time, Meir Dagan headed Mossad. A decision to kill a senior Iranian official would likely have required the Israeli prime minister's approval. Ehud Olmert held that position in 2007. Iranian officials conducted their own investigation into Asgari's disappearance and found that Israeli agents had broken into his hotel room in Istanbul, drugged and kidnapped him. Investigators also found the vehicle used in the operation abandoned near the Black Sea. Despite the lack of evidence linking Iran to Arad's disappearance, Israel went on to kidnap General Abdullah Saberi, an IRGC commander, while he was out for a morning run in Damascus in 2021. Mossad operatives bundled Saberi into a refrigerator box and loaded him into a moving van. After a lengthy interrogation involving torture, the Israelis dumped Saberi alive in Johannesburg, South Africa, in an attempt to conceal who was behind the kidnapping. Saberi also knew nothing about Arad. Turkey and Qatar sign mutual defence agreement Read More » A joint Hezbollah-Iranian investigation subsequently concluded that Arad most likely died in 1988 in Nabi Chit, a village in eastern Lebanon, around two years after his plane went down, according to the NYT. Investigators believed his captors had held him there and later buried him in the village. Israeli officials, however, remained obsessed with the theory that Iran knew what had happened to him. In December 2025, Israel kidnapped Ahmad Shukr, a retired Lebanese security officer who, according to the NYT, left home to attend what he believed was a business meeting. Lebanese officials believe Israeli agents abducted him. Shukr has not been seen alive since and his whereabouts are unknown. Israeli officials now believe that Shukr killed Arad in retaliation for the killing of his brother by Israeli forces near Nabi Chit in 1988. There is no evidence to support the Israeli theory. Earlier this year, Israeli forces launched more than 40 strikes on Nabi Chit between 6 and 7 March, believing Arad was buried in a cemetery in the village. The Israeli attacks killed at least 41 people and wounded more than 40 others, and Arad's body was not found. Across Lebanon, Israeli attacks have killed at least 4,358 people between 2 March and early September 2026. Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.