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

A New York Times report says Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad, kidnapped Iranian general Alireza Asgari in Istanbul in 2006 while searching for missing Israeli pilot Ron Arad. Israeli officials later told US counterparts that Asgari had been tortured for weeks, but investigators concluded he knew nothing about Arad; the report says Mossad killed him and disposed of his body in the Black Sea. The account matters because it describes a long-running search that has involved alleged kidnappings and killings, as well as deadly Israeli strikes in Lebanon.

The report says Israel later abducted Iranian commander Abdullah Saberi in Damascus in 2021, tortured him during questioning and left him alive in Johannesburg. A joint Hezbollah-Iranian investigation concluded Arad probably died in Lebanon in 1988, but Israeli officials continued to pursue other theories. In March 2026, Israeli strikes on Nabi Chit killed at least 41 people and wounded more than 40, without finding Arad’s body; the article also says Israeli attacks across Lebanon killed at least 4,358 people between 2 March and early September 2026.