A British-based Arabic newspaper claims kidnapped reservists Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser were handed over to Iran. Report of Germany releasing an Iranian prisoner are possibly related.
The London-based Arabic-language daily al-Sharq al-Awsat reported Sunday that Regev and Goldwasser were transferred to Iran in a special operation overseen by a senior Revolutionary Guard commander shortly after their kidnapping by Hizbullah terrorists.
The paper quotes a source in the office of Iran’s Islamic Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei saying that the announced release of Iranian intelligence officer Kazem Darabi from a German prison may be related to a deal regarding the MIAs. Darabi is in prison for killing a Kurdish Iranian leader in Germany, and was supposed to be part of a deal to secure information on the fate of IDF airman Ron Arad, who has been missing for over 25 years.
The report rehashes a claim made last week by French officials that Regev and Goldwasser were killed; the deal would be for the return of their remains. That report was published by rival Arabic-language paper Al-Hayat, also published in London. "Israel is convinced that the soldiers kidnapped by Hizbullah have been killed," the paper reported, quoting French officials.
Israeli media analysts warn that the papers are both seeking to increase circulation by reporting speculative and unsubstantiated reports on the fate of the captives. Such reports have in the past been revealed to be the product of leaks by various intelligence elements and terror groups, as ways to increase leverage or psychological pressure.
Officials: We Know They Are Not in Iran
Officials said to be involved in negotiations for the reservists’ release told Army Radio that the al-Sharq al-Awsat report is false, and that the men were not taken to Iran.
The Prime Minister's Office also issued a statement calling the report baseless.
Goldwasser’s Mother Refuses to Give Up Hope
Ehud's mother, Miki Goldwasser, called the report a "spin,” telling Army Radio: “These kinds of things are reported all the time. There is no corroborating evidence to back up these reports. We hope this is just another form of psychological warfare.”
Goldwasser speculated that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, humiliated by her daughter-in-law Karnit’s confrontation with him at a New York press conference, was spreading the rumors of the reservists’ death to punish the families.