An enigmatic Iranian figure whose fate remains unknown, some claim he was kidnapped while others say he committed suicide, "Reza Asgar." The commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Brigadier Ali Reza Asgar or "Reza Asgar," who also served as an assistant to former Iranian Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani, is a mysterious personality. Some allege he collaborated with foreign intelligence agencies, while others claim he was kidnapped by the U.S. and Israel. According to Israeli media, he committed suicide in Ayalon Prison in Ramla, northwest of Jerusalem.
Years of speculation have led to claims, reported by Iran International's website, that Ali Reza Asgar is living undercover in the United States with a new identity. The website published a report stating that "General Asgar provided the United States with accurate and sensitive military information and revealed the identity of Deputy Defense Minister in Hassan Rouhani's government, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who was assassinated in a complex operation in Iran and was described as the architect of Iran's nuclear program."
In the 1980s, according to the Sunday Times, Asgar was part of the commando forces of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in Lebanon and was also one of Iran's top intelligence operatives in Lebanon in the 1990s, cooperating with Hezbollah. According to the Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post, Asgar was responsible for transferring Israeli pilot Ron Arad to Iran and remained in his position until he was dismissed after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected president.
However, according to the Iranian site Ensaf News, Iranian authorities announced in 2020 the execution of a person named Reza Asgar, who appears to be General Ali Reza Asgar. Some media outlets reported at that time that the executed person was indeed "Ali Reza Asgar," which raised concerns from his wife and political circles in Iran regarding "Brigadier Ali Reza Asgar."
In July 2020, his wife Ziba Ahmadi told the Fars News Agency, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard: "My husband Ali Reza Asgar was an assistant to former Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani and was a loyal soldier to the sacred Islamic Republic. The accusation of espionage is an insult to my husband."
After years of ambiguity regarding Ali Reza Asgar's fate, Iran International's network published a lengthy report stating: "His family says he traveled to Syria and Turkey for olive trading, but some of his friends mention he was on a business mission. International media initially reported that Ali Reza Asgar was in contact with the CIA, deciding on his own to head to America, but Iranian authorities accuse the Mossad and the CIA of kidnapping this former general of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard."
Based on this information, it is likely that Asgar was recruited in 2005 in Thailand and was the person who disclosed Mohsen Fakhrizadeh's identity to the U.S. as a key figure in Tehran's military nuclear program. In 2007, the newspapers Haaretz and Asharq Al-Awsat mentioned Asgar's disappearance, stating that he fled to the United States, although a U.S. intelligence official denied this.
The Washington Post reported that Asgar voluntarily provided information about Hezbollah and its relationship with Iran to Western intelligence agencies and also provided information about the explosion that occurred at the American base in Lebanon in 1983. Israel denied any involvement in Asgar's kidnapping.
Newsweek claimed in mid-2014 that Asgar, after disappearing in Turkey, obtained refuge from the United States and emigrated to the country, still believed to be living there with the support of the CIA. American writer and journalist Kai Bird mentioned in an interview with The New York Times in 2014 that he believed Ali Reza Asgar revealed the secret residence of Imad Mughniyeh to the Americans, while a report by National Public Radio (NPR) also pointed out Asgar's possible involvement in Mughniyeh's assassination.
