TEHRAN (Reuters) -- A former Iranian Defense Ministry official who went missing in Turkey may have been kidnapped by Western intelligence, Iran's police chief was quoted by an Iranian news agency as saying on Tuesday.

Iran said on Monday it was taking steps to solve the case of Ali Reza Asgari, 63, who Turkish reports said went missing after checking into an Istanbul hotel on February 7.

Iran has asked Turkey to investigate his disappearance.

"It is possible that former deputy defense minister Asghari was kidnapped by Western intelligence services because of his Defense Ministry background," police chief Ismail Ahmadi-Moghaddam was quoted by ILNA news agency as saying.

"The former deputy in a personal trip, first went to Damascus and then Turkey. He went missing after three days stay in Turkey. Police inquiries show he has not left Turkey," the Iranian police chief said.

He said there was no indication Asghari had died or had been hospitalized.