An Iranian general was allegedly captured by the Mossad, Israel’s secret service, in Syria during an Israeli mission to obtain information about the fate of Ron Arad, an Israeli airman who went missing after crashing in Lebanon in 1986, Ynet reports, citing an Arabic-language news site called Rai al-Youm.
According to the media outlet, the general was allegedly moved to some African country where he was interrogated and then released.
While the report does not mention if the general was on active duty, it suggests that the incident in question may be linked to an alleged assassination plot against an Israeli billionaire in Cyprus, which Israel claimed was “part of an Iranian terror plot”, as the media outlet put it.
The Iranian Embassy in Cyprus has denied Tel Aviv’s allegations that Tehran was plotting "terror attacks" against Israelis doing business in Cyprus.
Ynet points out, however, that the credibility of Rai al-Youm’s reporting about Iran “has been questionable”, and that the website “defines Israel as ‘our enemy’ in its About Us tab”.
Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett reportedly disclosed the details about the Mossad operation that was launched in September to gather intelligence about Arad, before the Israeli parliament on Monday.
"It was a complex, large-scale and daring operation. That's all there is to say right now. We made another effort on the way to understanding what happened to Ron," Bennett said.
While security sources initially said that the mission failed, the prime minister’s office later released a statement claiming that the operation was a success, the media outlet notes.