Political India: Engaging America

From The Hindu

In the latest twist to the intrigue-laden saga of Shahram Amiri, media reports have cited unnamed officials in the Obama administration as saying that the Iranian nuclear scientist — said to have either defected to the United States or been kidnapped by the Central Intelligence Agency — received $5 million from the spy agency to reveal Iran’s nuclear secrets.

The Washington Post said in a news report on Thursday, “Shahram Amiri is not obligated to return the money but might be unable to access it after breaking off what U.S. officials described as significant cooperation with the CIA and abruptly returning to Iran.”

It further quoted unnamed official sources as saying, “Anything he got is now beyond his reach, thanks to the financial sanctions on Iran… He’s gone, but his money’s not. We have his information, and the Iranians have him.”

Mr. Amiri, who used to work at Iran’s Malek Ashtar University of Defence Technology disappeared during a visit to Saudi Arabia in June 2009, making a dramatic reappearance in the Iran Interests section of the Pakistani embassy in Washington earlier this week.

Alleges American conspiracy

After a brief stay there, Mr. Amiri returned to Tehran early on Thursday morning, where he was given a hero’s welcome. Mr. Amiri also spoke to journalists after his arrival at Imam Khomeini Airport, reportedly saying that he had no connection with Iran’s nuclear program and that he was the victim of an American conspiracy to wage “psychological warfare” against Iran.

Media reports also quoted Mr. Amiri as saying at that press conference that he had been offered $10 million to say on CNN that he had arrived in the U.S. to seek asylum. He added that just before his departure for Iran, he was offered $50 million and the option of residing in a European country of his choosing.

Mr. Amiri’s case generated renewed media interest in early 2010 when, initially, reports said that he had provided the U.S. with intelligence on Iran’s purported nuclear programme, and then three videos allegedly of Mr. Amiri appeared on the You Tube website.

Two of the videos, which appeared on June 8, presented contradictory explanations for Mr. Amiri’s disappearance, with one suggesting that he was captured, taken to a house in Saudi Arabia and given an injection, after which he awoke on a plane bound for the U.S.. The individual in the second video, also thought to be Mr. Amiri, said he was free and safe in the U.S., working on a Ph.D. and located in Arizona.

In a third video that emerged at the end of June, a man was observed saying, “I, Shahram Amiri, am a national of the Islamic Republic of Iran and a few minutes ago, I succeeded in escaping U.S. security agents in Virginia.”

Labels: CIA, Iranian scientist, Shahram Amiri

From The Hindu

Shahram Amiri, an Iranian nuclear scientist who vanished from the face of the earth while visiting Saudi Arabia in June 2009, has reappeared in the Iran Interests section of the Pakistani embassy in Washington.

His resurfacing in Washington is the latest twist in a Machiavellian saga at the heart of one of the most complex and potentially explosive areas of international politics — the Iran-United States nuclear controversy.

Shortly after Mr. Amiri (32) went missing while on a pilgrimage, reports emerged that he had defected to the U.S.. However, Tehran at the time alleged that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had kidnapped him. In March 2010, media reports here said that Mr. Amiri had provided the U.S. with intelligence on Iran’s purported nuclear programme.

Mr. Amiri used to work at Iran’s Malek Ashtar University of Defence Technology, which was listed for sanctions by the European Union in 2008 and said to be connected to the politically influential Revolutionary Guards.

Confirmation of his presence in the Iranian section reportedly came on Monday night from a Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman, Abdul Basit, who was quoted as saying that Mustafa Rahmani, head of the Iranian interests section, “is making arrangements for [Amiri’s] repatriation back to Iran”. Mr. Basit also noted that neither the Iranian nor American government had approached Pakistani authorities about Mr. Amiri's demands.

The BBC also reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki had confirmed reports of Mr. Amiri having asked to be repatriated to Iran. “We hope that, without any obstacle, he can return to his country, that they [the U.S.], do not create any obstacle for his return to his homeland,” the report quoted Mr. Mottaki as saying.

Videos on YouTube

The latest twist to the denouement follows closely the appearance of three videos on the YouTube website, of an individual said to be Mr. Amiri. The first two videos, which appeared on June 8, presented contradictory explanations for Mr. Amiri’s disappearance.

According to a New York Times report, the first video showed a man identified as Mr. Amiri, who said in Persian that he was captured, taken to a house in Saudi Arabia and given an injection, after which he awoke on a plane bound for the U.S..

The second video, again thought to be of Mr. Amiri, showed a “young man in a suit… insisting that he was free and safe in the U.S., working on a Ph.D.” and located in Arizona. In that video he also reportedly said that he had no interest in politics or experience in nuclear weapons programs.

In the third video, which was broadcast by Iranian State Television on June 29, a man was observed as saying, “I, Shahram Amiri, am a national of the Islamic Republic of Iran and a few minutes ago I succeeded in escaping U.S. security agents in Virginia,” according to the BBC.

The BBC further noted that the man in the video said, “Presently, I am producing this video in a safe place. I could be rearrested at any time.” In this, he also reportedly debunked the claims made in the second video, calling it a “complete fabrication” and saying, “I am not free here and I am not permitted to contact my family. If something happens and I do not return home alive, the U.S .government will be responsible.”

The speaker in the video reportedly ended by urging Iranian officials and human rights organisations to “put pressure on the U.S. government for my release and return” further emphasising, “I was not prepared to betray my country under any kind of threats or bribery by the U.S. government.”

While U.S. officials could not be reached for comment on the latest developments, ABC News had earlier quoted CIA-linked individuals as saying, “The Iranian government has threatened to harm the family of a nuclear scientist who defected to the U.S. and helped provide crucial details about Iran’s burgeoning weapons program unless he returns home.”

The ABC also reported that the situation had become so grave that American officials feared that Mr. Amiri could re-defect, despite his operating as a CIA asset in Iran “for several years before his defection”.

Lisa Curtis of the Heritage Foundation and formerly with the CIA, said to The Hindu, “The CIA is not in the business of kidnapping nuclear scientists. It just doesn’t happen. This is likely a fabrication by Amiri for Iran to save face.”

Labels: CIA, Iranian scientist, Shahram Amiri