[3] Motevaselian was also an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) member in command of an Iranian expeditionary force in Lebanon.
The 27th Mohammad Rasoul-Allah Brigade, under his command, played an important role in Liberation of Khorramshahr, a "turning point" in the war.
[11] According to the US State Department and Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Motevaselian was in command of the IRGC expeditionary force supporting Shia militias like Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley to fight against the Israeli invasion.
[12][13][14][15] According to Mohsen Rezai, currently secretary of the Expediency Council, he had been chosen to lead the Iranian expeditionary force in Lebanon because of his success in crushing the 1979 Kurdish rebellion in Iran.
[19][20] On the highway between Jounieh and Beirut,[8]: 157 after reaching the El Berbara checkpoint in northern Mount Lebanon,[1][13][21] Lebanese Phalange forces headed by Samir Geagea stopped and detained the diplomats.
[4] According to the Rai al-Youm on-line newspaper, Biar Rizq, known as "Akram", and Abdeh Raji, known as "Captain", were involved in the abduction,[22] with the latter commanding the checkpoint.
[24] In the aftermath of the incident, Iran accused Israel of kidnapping and holding the diplomats in their jails, and called on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to clarify their whereabouts.
[8]: 156 Similarly, Ghazanfar Roknabadi, former Iranian ambassador in Lebanon, said that there were "concrete evidences" proving that they were alive, held in Israel.
[7] According to the Iranian Fars News Agency, Israel has made contradictory comments on the issue by rejecting the allegation of diplomats being surrendered to it, and saying that they are already dead.
The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) said that the interview substantiated the abduction of the diplomats and their handing over to Israel by Geagea's group.
Referring to his conversation with Assaad Chaftari, a senior intelligence official of Lebanese Forces, Pakradouni believed that the abducted diplomats could have been killed before reaching Karantina.
[6] According to Fars News, during the 37th anniversary ceremony held in Lebanon to commemorate the kidnapped Iranian diplomats, the senior advisor to the Iran Parliament Speaker divulged that Iran and Lebanon would prolong their association in order to solve the case of the abducted Iranian diplomats.