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.”
