Copyright 1994 The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post
April 24, 1994
HEADLINE: IRANIAN FM DENIES HIS COUNTRY HOLDING RON ARAD
BYLINE: Reuter
BODY:
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati denied yesterday that Iran was holding missing airman Ron Arad.
In a rare exchange between an Iranian official and an Israeli reporter, Velayati was asked by an Army Radio correspondent in Bucharest whether his country was holding Arad, whose aircraft was shot down over Lebanon in 1986.
"I don't know how much it is related to the present discussions that we have, but I categorically deny there is any prisoner from Israel in Iran," Velayati said.
Senior pro-Iranian sources in Lebanon have said Arad is in Syrian hands. Israel has said he is held by Hizbullah or Iran.