BEATS HAVING TO RELY ON THE CIA:

Missing Iranian spy chief 'defected to West' (Tim Butcher, 07/03/2007, Daily Telegraph)

A former Iranian spy chief was suspected last night of defecting to the West, raising the prospect of a timely intelligence bonanza amid tensions with Teheran.

While the speculation was impossible to verify, it is hard to imagine a more tantalising prospect for Western intelligence agencies than the defection of General Ali Reza Azkari, who is known to have served in Lebanon in the 1990s liaising with Hizbollah. [...]

Citing "informed sources", the London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq al-Awsat said Gen Azkari had defected to the United States.