Iran TV: 48 Iranians kidnapped in Syria

[Comrade Grumpy]

12. Did you even read what you posted?

"The identities and motives of the captives could not be independently verified. Iran has insisted that they were innocent pilgrims returning from a Shiite shrine on the southern edge of Damascus, and some rebel groups have not embraced the kidnapping or the theory laid out by the fighters in the video. Col. Malik al-Kurdi, a deputy commander of the Free Syrian Army — one of several competing umbrella groups involved in the fighting — said the brigade involved in the kidnapping appeared to have been acting on its own and did not tell the Free Syrian Army about the operation."

1. We don't know who these 48 people are.
2. Iran says they are pilgrims.
3. Some rebel groups "have not embraced the kidnapping and the theory laid out by the fighters in the video."
4. The kidnapping was done by independent armed thugs without the permission of the FSA.

You do recall the earlier kidnapping of I think it was 11 Iranians last fall? The rebels said they were Revolutionary Guards. They turned out to be engineers working on a water treatment plant.

All of this assurance that these guys are Revolutionary Guards seems to be little more than wishful thinking at this point. It might turn out to be the case; it might not. I suspect the latter. Time will tell.