Shahram
Amiri arrives home in Tehran Thursday, accusing
U.S. interrogators of extreme mental and
physical torture.
Kayhan, Islamic
Republic of Iran
Another Intelligence-Security Defeat for U.S.-Saudi Alliance
The saga
of the disappearance of Iranian nuclear researcher Shahram Amiri appears to
have ended, with his arrival in Iran to a hero's welcome. But reading between
the lines of this news item from Iran's state-run Kayhan newspaper, it
seems as though the Tehran regime would prefer open questions about whether he
defected or was kidnapped not be delved into too deeply.
Iranian nuclear researcher Shahram Amiri: Was he kidnapped, or did he defect? Was he tortured by the United States or has his family been threatened by Iran?
An Iranian nuclear researcher
kidnapped by the United States - in collaboration with Saudi Arabia - has
sought refuge at the Pakistani Embassy's Iranian Interests Section in
Washington and is seeking to return to Iran.
Shahram Amiri, who worked as
a researcher at a university in Tehran and was abducted during a Hajj
pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia last year, appeared at the Iranian Interests Section
office at 6:30 p.m. Monday, according to Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul
Basit.
Because Tehran and Washington
don't maintain diplomatic ties, the Pakistani Embassy in Washington serves as
host for the Iranian Interests Section, which provides visas for travel to Iran
and other consular services for Iranians in the United States.
Iran had earlier handed over
new documents proving its nuclear scientist was abducted by the U.S. The
evidence, the contents of which have not been disclosed, had been given to the
Swiss Embassy, which represents American interests in Iran.
[Editor's Note: According
to the Washington Post: The Iranian nuclear scientist, who claimed
to have been abducted by the CIA before departing for his homeland Wednesday,
was paid more than $5 million by the agency to provide intelligence on Iran's
nuclear program, U.S. officials said. … 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. Officials said he might have left out of concern that the Tehran
government would harm his family.]
In two videos that surfaced on June 8,
Amiri said he had been kidnapped by Saudi and U.S. agents, tortured, forced to
say he had defected and was living in Tucson, Arizona. In a third and final
video, aired on Iranian TV at the end of June, he said he had escaped.
In other words, Iran has once
again proven that the U.S. and Saudi intelligence services were behind Amiri's
abduction. It is safe to conclude that he was never a defector - as alleged by
the U.S. As a researcher, he had a well-paid and prestigious job and was not a
political person, and most importantly, he had a family in Iran - and said in
his videos that he missed them terribly.
Likewise, knowing whether he
sought refuge at the Pakistani mission on his own or was handed over by U.S.
officials isn't important. The important point is that he wants to return home
- further proof that he has done nothing wrong while in captivity.
Amiri will soon be free to
speak and may be able to shed some light on a fascinating but inevitably
obscure story. His sudden appearance at the Pakistani Embassy in Washington has
indeed injected new drama into a long-running mystery, since it serves as
further proof that this was never an “intelligence coup” or a high-profile
defection of an Iranian nuclear scientist with a presumed trove of secrets, as
claimed by the U.S.
But one thing is certain:
Given the superb intelligence and media activities of the Islamic Republic of
Iran, the U.S. government had no option but to retreat and hand over Amiri to
the Iran Interest Section in Washington.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
This is just the latest
defeat for the Americans and their Saudi allies in their three-decade long
intelligence-security struggle against the Islamic Republic.
As for the Saudis, only the
future will tell to what extent their government has failed in its
responsibilities regarding pilgrims visiting Mecca and Medina, the two most
sacred cities of Islam, as well as the honor of being the Khadem-ul-Haramein
- servants of the two Holy Sanctuaries.
