Iranian nuclear scientist on his way home

This frame grab image taken from a video posted on YouTube in late June shows a man who identifies himself as Shahram Amiri, an Iranian citizen, saying he was in the U.S. at the time of the recording and that the date is June 23, 2010. Photo: AP.

Iran says the Iranian nuclear scientist who sought refuge in the Pakistani Embassy compound in Washington has left the U.S. and is on his way home to Tehran.

Iran’s foreign ministry says the scientist, Shahram Amiri, was flying home on Wednesday, travelling through a third country. Hassan Ghashghavi, with the Iranian Foreign Ministry, says Mr. Amiri is expected to arrive early Thursday in Tehran. He says the scientist would make a stopover in Qatar.

Iran has claimed that Mr. Amiri, who disappeared while on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia in 2009, was abducted by American agents. U.S. denies the claim. He surfaced on Monday evening at the Pakistani embassy.

Mr. Amiri’s case could embarrass American efforts to gather intelligence on Tehran’s suspected nuclear weapons programme.