Iranian envoy, Lebanese FM discuss abducted diplomats’ situation

Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Qazanfar Roknabadi and Lebanese Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour in a meeting in Beirut discussed the status of the four Iranian diplomats who were kidnapped in Southern Lebanon in July 1982 on the occasion of the 31st anniversary of their abduction. On July 4, 1982, four Iranian diplomats - Ahmad Motevaselian, Seyed Mohsen Mousavi, Taqi Rastegar Moqaddam and Kazem Akhavan - were kidnapped by a group of Israel-backed gunmen at an inspection point in Northern Lebanon. Roknabadi, heading a delegation comprised of families of the four abducted diplomats, discussed the latest status of the four abducted diplomats. “We discussed the relentless efforts of the Lebanese government and foreign ministry in relation to clarifying the status of the four abducted Iranian diplomats,” the Iranian envoy to Lebanon said. “Given that the abduction has taken place in the Lebanese soil and in the most difficult situation of Lebanon’s occupation by the Zionist regime while thanking the Lebanese government for its efforts in this regard, we ask that government to continue its investigations in this respect in a bid to reach desirable results as soon as possible,” Roknabadi added. The then charge d'affaires of the Iranian Embassy in Beirut Seyed Mohsen Mousavi, military attaché Ahmad Motevaselian, embassy technician Taqi Rastegar Moghadam and journalist of the Islamic republic news agency Kazzem Akhavan were kidnapped by the Lebanese mercenary army - also known as the Falangists - at gunpoint in Northern Lebanon in 1982 and were later handed over to the Israeli army. Israel has released contradictory reports on the issue. The Zionist regime alleged in a statement in 2010 that the diplomats had never been surrendered to Israel. Elsewhere it claimed in response to a request put forward by the Lebanese Hezbollah group that the four are already dead.