Tehran, Ankara working to solve case of ex official who disappeared from Istanbul

Iranian and Turkish officials have been in contact and are looking for clues about the fate of a former senior Iranian official who Tehran says was kidnapped from a hotel in Istanbul in 2006 and killed by Israel . Former Deputy Defense Minister Ali Reza Asgari disappeared during a visit to Istanbul in December 2006. There has been speculation that he defected to a Western country and now lives in the US , but Iran insists he was kidnapped by Israeli agents and transferred to a prison in Israel . The issue came to the fore once again when the Israeli media last week reported the suicide of an unidentified prisoner in solitary confinement in Ayalon Prison. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said yesterday that Tehran has held many talks with Turkish officials to investigate Asgari's disappearance. "Consultations are currently underway with Turkey to find clues to the fate of the missing Iranian," he added.