February 2, 2009 - Naharnet - Iran: Israel is Responsible For the Fate of Our Missing Diplomats

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hassan Qashqavi has held Israel responsible for the fate of four Iranian diplomats who went missing in Lebanon during the civil war.
"We in Iran do not adopt the Zionist point of view, and are unconcerned with the evasiveness of the Zionist entity from its responsibility on this issue," Qashqavi said in a statement distributed by the Iranian embassy in Beirut on Saturday.

"We still consider the Zionist entity responsible for the fate of the four Iranian diplomats currently inside Israeli prisons. This entity has secret and open dealings with the Lebanese kidnappers," Qashqavi added.

Qashqavi was commenting on an alleged Israeli report in which the Jewish state denied it was holding the diplomats who were kidnapped in Lebanon in 1982.

The Iranian foreign ministry spokesman called on the Lebanese authorities and all concerned parties in this issue "to take responsibility and seriously work on exposing all the aspects of the case and settle it."

Qashqavi praised Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah "for raising the issue of the four diplomats."

This "demonstrates Hizbullah's humanitarian principles and values in holding Israel responsible for their continued kidnapping," Qashqavi said.