Nuclear scientist originally from Iran shows up at home, Ayatollah, with nothing

An Iranian nuclear scientist who defected to the U.S. in 2009 returned to a hero’s welcome in Iran Thursday. Shahram Amiri claims he was kidnapped by the CIA. The US officials have a different story saying he was just homesick after defecting all on his own. Many believe the Iranian government has been controlling Amiri as an agent the whole time. The US is perfectly fine with the whole situation considering they got details they needed on the Iranian nuclear weapons project. In CIA money, $ 5 million was left by Amiri. Regardless, the Iranian government is milking the affair for all the propaganda it can get.

Torturing happened according to the Iranian nuclear scientist after being kidnapped

The Islamic Republic News Agency reports that Deputy Foreign Minister Hassan Qashqavi greeted Sharhram Amiri, Tehran believes was kidnapped and tortured within the US, at the Imam Khomeini International Airport. Considering the details gained on Iranian nuclear websites and Iranian nuclear weapons, CNN reports the US has come out ahead, even after the CIA cash advance. ”We have his insights — original details on the Iranian nuclear program that proved useful — and now the Iranians have him. Plainly, we got the better end of things,” was explained to CNN in reference to Amiri.

Behind was left $ 5 million after snitching and being an Iranian nuke defector/span>

The Iranian nuke defector left behind most of the $ 5 million CIA cash loan he got for information about the Iranian nuclear weapons program. Money put into escrow like this to pay down everyone who gives the government information, according to ABC News, happens a lot. Keeping the money in escrow prevents a snitch from grabbing the money all at once. How much money the Amiri collected before his change of heart is uncertain, but the majority of the cash remains in escrow. Anything he got is now beyond his reach, thanks to sanctions against Iran.

Iranian government gloats about their victory

There were clear signs that the Iranian government used the Iranian nuclear scientist for propaganda. Amiri told Tehran reporters that he had to lie about Iran’s nuclear program since he was tortured in the US for 14 months, according to the Guardian. He said he didn’t know anything within the field. Iranian media, which is controlled by the state, gave blanket coverage to his return and reported that he had been invited to address the parliament’s committee on national security. The Iranian newspaper Siasat-e Ruz wrote about the failure of western intelligence, the end of CIA dominance and the power of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Who’s on the right side of Iranian nukes?

Last month, two videos surfaced on the Internet of a man claiming to be Amiri who said he escaped from U.S. agents and was hiding in Virginia. A CIA official was quoted in a CNN article saying that he wondered how he would make videos when being held against his will. You will find many, including Iranian bloggers and an article in the Guardian, that think Amiri might have just been a “controlled” agent. An Iranian analyst was quoted by the Guardian saying, “If it was something they wanted to sweep under the carpet, they wouldn’t have given it this huge amount of media coverage.”.

Discover more details

CNN
cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/07/15/iran.researcher.claims/index.html?npt=NP1
ABC News
abcnews.go.com/Blotter/shahram-amiri-iran-nuke-defector-left-million-cia/story?id=11171171
The Guardian
guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/15/shamram-amiri-returns-iran-nuclear