March 13, 2007	Tuesday	Safar 23, 1428

TEHRAN: The family of a former Iranian general who has mysteriously disappeared denied on Monday reports he had defected, describing him as a loyal servant of the Islamic republic who had moved into olive trading.

The family of Ali Reza Asghari, a former deputy defence minister who vanished while on a private trip to Turkey, has made a complaint to Ankara's embassy in Tehran over his disappearance, Iranian news agencies reported.

Asghari, 46, “took retirement at his own request two years ago and was doing business in olives and olive oil in Syria,” his wife Sima Ahmadi said.

“All of these (reports) are enemy propaganda. There was no request for political asylum as there was no problem with the authorities. He was very attached to his family,” she said.

“I am certain that my father was abducted by Israel and the United States because of the services he rendered to the Islamic republic and the revolution,” added his daughter Elham Asghari.—AFP