The four diplomats kidnapped on July 4, 1982 are still missing. (Credit: AFP archive photo)
A car, convoyed by the Lebanese army, slowly pulled over at a Lebanese Forces checkpoint on the Barbara (Jbeil) sea road.At the wheel was Taghi Rastegar-Moghadam, an employee of the Iranian embassy in Beirut, accompanied by Ahmad Motevasselian, the military attaché of the embassy, Mohsen Moussavi, the chargé d’affaires, as well as the photojournalist Kazem Akhavan of the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).It was July 4, 1982.Israeli troops were at the gates of Baabda, but Tehran “insisted on reopening its chancery in Beirut,” while “all foreign diplomats had left the city,” according to the Iranian official story.In fact, Motevasselian was a commander of the 27th brigade of the Iranian army (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) who was sent to Beirut in June 1982 by Ayatollah Khomeini to counter the Israeli invasion, according to the...
A car, convoyed by the Lebanese army, slowly pulled over at a Lebanese Forces checkpoint on the Barbara (Jbeil) sea road.At the wheel was Taghi Rastegar-Moghadam, an employee of the Iranian embassy in Beirut, accompanied by Ahmad Motevasselian, the military attaché of the embassy, Mohsen Moussavi, the chargé d’affaires, as well as the photojournalist Kazem Akhavan of the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).It was July 4, 1982.Israeli troops were at the gates of Baabda, but Tehran “insisted on reopening its chancery in Beirut,” while “all foreign diplomats had left the city,” according to the Iranian official story.In fact, Motevasselian was a commander of the 27th brigade of the Iranian army (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) who was sent to Beirut in June 1982 by Ayatollah Khomeini to counter the Israeli invasion, according...
Rubio condemns Iran's 'outrageous' attacks on Kuwait
