Iran Ponders Kidnapping U.S. Troops in Retaliation for Mysterious Officer Disappearances
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Tel Aviv, Israel — Iranian forces are threatening to retaliate — against U.S. forces — for a series of suspected kidnappings of high-ranking officers of its elite Revolutionary Guards unit.
The Sunday Times of London reported that the Mideast nation may be planning to seize American, U.S., and Israeli personnel to strike back at western forces for possible clandestine operations to seize top tier commanders of the Iranian military structure for information on its activities in Iraq.
U.S. officials have accused the Iranians of providing material and planning support to Shiite militias operating inside Iraq. American military leaders have said many roadside explosives often employed to target allied military vehicles have Iranian origin.
Click here to read the Sunday Times article.
“We’ve got the ability to capture a nice bunch of blue-eyed blond-haired officers and feed them to our fighting cocks,”said Reza Faker, a writer linked to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in a Revolutionary Guard's weekly newspaper quote cited in the Times report. “Iran has enough people who can reach the heart of Europe and kidnap Americans and Israelis.”
Military analysts have called the threats credible and intelligence sources say it would be more likely for Iran to carry out revenge operations against British and U.S. troops in Iraq rather than in their home nations.
Ali Reza Asgari, a former commander of the Revolutionary Guard’s Quds Force and a deputy defense minister, was the first high-ranking Iranian known to have mysteriously vanished during a trip to Istanbul earlier this month.
Last week, Colonel Amir Muhammed Shirazi, another Revolutionary Guard official was reported missing, possibly in Iraq. Also, the head of the Revolutionary Guard in the Persian Gulf — believed to be Brigadier General Muhammed Soltani — is also reported missing, according to the Times.
Other members of the Quds Force, which handles military operations outside Iran, are believed to have been captured in the Kurdish area of northern Iraq, by U.S. special forces, the Times reported.
Israeil sources suspect a U.S. task force known as the Iran Syria Policy and Operations Group (ISOG) is spearheading the abductions of Revolution Guard commanders.
Iran Ponders Kidnapping U.S. Troops in Retaliation for Mysterious Officer DisappearancesI'm sure that will bring a positive response from Israel and Washington.
Are the "kidnappings" they are referring to the two officers who recently defected?
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