Iran Responsible for Safety of Missing Airman, Says Israel

Senior Israeli security officials said this week that Iran was responsible for the safety of missing Israeli airman Ron Arad.

The statements came after an Islamic terrorist group threatened to kill Arad if Israel did not stop its bombing campaign in Lebanon.

A telephone caller claimed last Friday that the Organization for the Oppressed of the Earth would kill Arad in 48 hours to avenge the Israeli shelling a day earlier of a U.N. base in southern Lebanon that resulted in the deaths of at least 75 Lebanese refugees.

The caller also said the group would film and distribute Arad’s execution — as it did when it kidnapped and executed U.S. Marine Lt. Col. William Higgins in 1989, saying that he was spying for Israel.

Arad’s fighter plane was shot down over Lebanon in 1986. Israel officials have repeatedly maintained that Iran is holding him.

In response to the report, Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Ori Orr called the Oppressed of the Earth “a cover for Hezbollah.”

He also said, “This could be psychological warfare.”

Orr added that “this is the first announcement in a long time” that any group admitted to holding Arad.

Western intelligence officials have reportedly linked the Organization for the Oppressed of the Earth to Hezbollah, saying that it is one of several militant groups that follow Hezbollah’s orders.

Israeli security sources said they were investigating the caller’s claim.

American officials said Saturday that the call was a hoax.

But the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv issued an advisory to American citizens traveling in Israel to exercise caution.

The advisory did not suggest that Americans should cancel their visits to Israel.

Islamic militants reacted to the April 18 shelling of the U.N. base by issuing calls for their followers to attack American and Israeli targets in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world.

“We cannot discount the possibility of random acts of anti-American violence,” said an embassy spokesman.