The Iranian embassy in Lebanon says four Iranians, including three
diplomats, who disappeared in Beirut in 1982 are still alive and are
being held in Israel.
An embassy statement called for their
release in a statement Thursday marking the 26th anniversary of their
disappearance. It says Iran has information indicating Israel has
detained the four.
The son of one of the missing Iranians Thursday
said former prisoners in Israel have confirmed seeing the four alive in
Israeli jails.
Tehran says militants from the Christian Lebanese
Forces kidnapped the four in Beirut during the 1982 Israeli invasion of
Lebanon. The militant group has said they died in Lebanon.
The
embassy statement comes a day after the leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah
opposition, Hassan Nasrallah, said Israel would provide the group with
information on the fate of the four Iranians as part of a prisoner
exchange deal.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
