Report: Missing Iranian general defected

A missing Iranian general defected and is being safeguarded ...

JERUSALEM, (UPI) -- A missing Iranian general defected and is being safeguarded by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, it was reported Sunday.

Ali-Reza Asghari disappeared while on vacation in Turkey in February amid rumors he defected to a western country, the Jerusalem Post reported.

Asghari met up with CIA agents in Istanbul before he and some relatives were brought to the United States, the Post said, adding that U.S. officials have not commented on the report.

Asghari reportedly told the CIA Iran is enriching uranium with lasers in addition to building reactors and uranium enrichment centrifuges, the Post reported.

Asghari was a member of the Iranian Security Council and a senior officer in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, who oversee the country's nuclear facilities.

If Asghari's information is reliable it would support Western concerns about the increasing danger of Iran's nuclear program, the Post reported.