Three of Iran’s top officials in the Revolutionary Guard have disappeared, and the Iranians are blaming the United States.
The first sign of a possible campaign against high-ranking Iranian officers emerged earlier this month with the discovery that Ali Reza Asgari, former commander of the Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force in Lebanon and deputy defence minister, had vanished, apparently during a trip to Istanbul.
Asgari’s disappearance shocked the Iranian regime as he is believed to possess some of its most closely guarded secrets. The Quds Force is responsible for operations outside Iran.
Last week it was revealed that Colonel Amir Muhammed Shirazi, another high-ranking Revolutionary Guard officer, had disappeared, probably in Iraq.
A third Iranian general is also understood to be missing — the head of the Revolutionary Guard in the Persian Gulf.
Who knows if the United States is really kidnapping Iranian officials when the officials make foreign trips — this could be an elaborate game orchestrated by the Iranians. Or someone else could be kidnapping these folks and relishing in the misplaced blame.
But hey, if the U.S. didn’t actually kidnap these folks, you know what would enable us to convey that message? Diplomacy. Sorry, I mean more diplomacy.
