The Iranian Foreign Ministry has decried as an “act of terrorism” the 1982 kidnapping of four Iranian diplomats in Lebanon, reiterating the Islamic Republic’s call for the formation of a fact-finding group to determine the fate of the abductees.
The ministry said in a statement on the occasion of the 43rd anniversary of the abduction of the Iranian diplomats that the Israeli regime is responsible for the abduction and hostage-taking of its citizens, and continues to seriously pursue the matter with relevant international authorities.
On July 4, 1982, Ahmad Motovasselian, a military attaché at Tehran's Embassy in Beirut, Mohsen Mousavi, the Iranian chargé d'affaires in Lebanon, Taqi Rastegar Moqaddam, an employee of the Embassy, and Kazem Akhavan, a photographer for the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), were abducted by Israeli-affiliated armed groups.
“There is ample evidence, as repeatedly stated, and copious indications proving that the Iranian diplomats were abducted by an armed group inside Lebanon during the occupation of Lebanese soil by the Zionist regime, handed over to the occupying forces, and transferred to the occupied territories,” the statement said.
“The abduction of Iranian diplomats on July 4, 1982, in Beirut was not only an act contrary to international law and a flagrant violation of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, but also constitutes an act of terrorism according to the Convention Against the Taking of Hostages (1979).”
The statement also expressed Tehran’s gratitude for the Lebanese government’s cooperation in following up on the status of the four abducted Iranian diplomats, including Beirut’s registration of the issue through correspondence with the then secretary-general of the United Nations in September 2008.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry, as the statement said, once again calls on the authorities of the Lebanese government, as well as the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross and other competent international bodies, to fulfill their legal and humanitarian responsibilities in pursuing the case and to exert all their efforts to clarify the status of the abducted Iranian diplomats.
“In this framework, the proposal for the formation of a joint fact-finding committee between Iran and Lebanon, with the cooperation of the International Committee of the Red Cross, to pursue the matter and clarify the status of the abducted Iranian diplomats is once again emphasized,” the statement said.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly called for the Lebanese government, the UN, and the International Committee of the Red Cross to investigate the incident and determine the fate of the missing diplomats.
Lebanese militiamen from the Lebanese Forces Group admitted to the 1982 kidnapping of the four Iranian nationals who were on a diplomatic mission in North Lebanon. Investigations show that they were last handed to Israel at the time.
Although there is information about those who abducted the Iranian diplomats and their whereabouts, the fate of these Iranians is still shrouded in mystery, with their families and Iranian authorities believing they are still alive and languishing in Israeli jails.
Sources:Websites
