Iranian Ambassador to the UN Majid Takht-Ravanchi, in a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday, urged him to form a fact-finding committee to follow the case up.
Takht-Ravanchi said that Tehran believes the four diplomats were handed over to the Israeli regime’s forces immediately after the abduction in a region controlled by Tel Aviv at the time.
"Evidence shows that they have been held in Israeli prisons, and are still alive."
He further stressed that "the UN chief is expected to support Tehran’s call for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to set up a fact-finding committee to investigate the fate of the missing Iranian nationals.”
Earlier on Friday, Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs once again hailed cooperation and measures taken by the Lebanese government to determine the fate of the four diplomats and said the UN, the ICRC and other international bodies, as well as Lebanese officials, should fulfill their legal and humanitarian duty and make their utmost efforts to shed light on the issue.
On July 4, 1982, the year the Israeli regime invaded Lebanon, Ahmad Motevasselian, Seyyed Mohsen Mousavi, Taqi Rastegar Moqaddam and Kazem Akhavan were kidnapped by a group of Israel-backed gunmen at an inspection post in northern Lebanon.
MNA/IRN83846780