The Iranian embassy in Lebanon says four Iranians, including three diplomats, who disappeared in Beirut in 1982 are still alive and are being held in Israel.

An embassy statement called for their release in a statement Thursday marking the 26th anniversary of their disappearance.  It says Iran has information indicating Israel has detained the four.

The son of one of the missing Iranians Thursday said former prisoners in Israel have confirmed seeing the four alive in Israeli jails.

Tehran says militants from the Christian Lebanese Forces kidnapped the four in Beirut during the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. The militant group has said they died in Lebanon.

The embassy statement comes a day after the leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah opposition, Hassan Nasrallah, said Israel would provide the group with information on the fate of the four Iranians as part of a prisoner exchange deal. 

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.