A former Iranian defense ministry advisor confirmed on X that he had returned to Iraq after previously going missing in Egypt during a trip taken on his Iraqi passport, according to Middle Eastern media reports.
Tehran had previously confirmed that Amir Mousawi, a former Iranian diplomat, went missing hours after arriving at an airport in Cairo. Azerbaijani media reported that he was taken for questioning by authorities.
A post on his official X/Twitter account indicated that Mousawi was visiting Egypt after receiving an official invitation from Cairo.
On Monday, Mousawi’s X account confirmed that he had returned to Iraq after some involvement by the country’s embassy.
“We heard this morning about the disappearance of Mr. Amir Mousawi in Egypt. He is not currently a diplomat. He had previously served as a cultural attaché," foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei reportedly told reporters in Tehran.
Following Mousawi’s disappearance, speculation surfaced on Iranian media suggesting that the former official was abducted by Israel’s Mossad.
Who is Amir Mousawi?
Mousawi has expressed anti-Israel sentiments while delivering numerous analyses on al-Mayadeen, Al Jazeera and Iranian state media. Notably, he claimed last month that Iran was capable of producing 24 nuclear bombs within a few hours if it so wished.
Mousawi also threatened to arm terrorist groups in the West Bank in 2014. “A new front must be opened from the West Bank, after it has been armed – especially with missiles, because we know very well that the distance between the West Bank and Tel Aviv, Haifa, and other areas is much shorter than the distance from Gaza,” Mousavi said on Lebanese Al-Mayadeen TV.
He was ousted from his diplomatic position in Algeria in 2014 following large public outcry and suspicion that he was working to promote Shiism and Iranian influence, according to BBC Persian.
Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita warned local media that the former official was “one of the advisors to the Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran" and so had sway outranking the ambassador.