Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz said on Wednesday that allegations about Israeli involvement in the disappearance of a former Iranian official in Turkey were unfounded, the Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported on its website.

Peretz was quoted as saying that Israel did not engage in that sort of activity and therefore he had no reason to discuss it.

The daily reported earlier that Ali Reza Asghari, a former Iranian deputy defense minister, was reportedly disappeared in Turkey on Feb. 7 after arriving in Istanbul from Damascus.

Unnamed Arab diplomats were quoted by Israeli media as saying that Israel's Mossad, or the Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations, and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) kidnapped Asghari.

According to Israeli media, the Israeli defense establishment has ordered to boost security around its embassies and senior officials abroad, fearing that there may be an attempt to kidnap embassy workers and strike Israeli targets following the allegations.

Source: Xinhua