By Stephanie Miceli - July 14, 2010
The Iranian nuclear scientist who spent a year
in the United States is on a flight home. Iran's Foreign Ministry said the
scientist, Shahram Amiri, is traveling throughQatar and expected to arrive in
Tehran on Thursday.
Reports of Amiri's disappearance last year
raised suspicions of a possible affiliation with Iran's nuclear program. Formerly
employed by Tehran's Malek Ashtar University, an institution closely connected
to the country's Atomic Energy Organization and Revolutionary Guard, Amiri reportedly
defected a pilgrimage to Mecca in June 2009 for a year in the United States.
The scientist resurfaced at the Pakistani
Embassy in Washington on Monday evening, which addresses Iranian affairs. Iran lacks
its own embassy because it does not maintain diplomatic ties with Washington.
His appearance may bring conflicts of interest to Pakistan, which has close
ties with Iran yet receives billions of dollars in U.S. aid. Iran, and later
Amiri, claimed the CIA had kidnapped him and taken to the United States against
his will, which the Obama administration refuted Tuesday. The United States
said Amiri was in the United States of his own will and was free to leave at
his will.
However, Amiri maintains when he became
conscious, he "found" himself in a plane on the way to the U.S.
Remaining out of physical sight, Amiri surfaced
in a string of contradictory videos during the period of his disappearance. In
a Web cam video dated April 5, Amiri said U.S. and Saudi "terror and kidnap
teams" snatched him. However, in a second video which appeared more
professionally produced, he said he was studying for his doctorate in the United
States. In shakier footage that was later released, Amiri rejected the validity
of the second video, claiming he escaped from U.S. agents.
Several U.S. officials said someone being held
against his will would not have been granted access to a computer and a video
camera.
This episode could catalyze U.S. efforts to
gather intelligence on Iran's nuclear program, which Iran says is for peaceful
purposes.
The Chinese news agency Xinhua last reported
that Amiri's latest audio message revealed that he was offered 10 million U.S.
dollars to appear on CNN and announce that he had willingly defected to the
U.S.
The scientist's appearance at the Iranian
interests section may prove to be awkward for Pakistan, which receives billions
of dollars in U.S. aid but also has close ties to Iran.
(Photo Courtesy: AP Images)
