Iran: Understanding the Nuclear Scientist/Abduction Case (All It Takes is 1 Cartoon)

As we predicted in our first entry in our updates today, the international media are seeing "Iran" via the case of Shahram Amiri, the scientist who had come to the US --- willingly or unwillingly --- and is now back in Tehran.

My gratitude to the EA correspondent who found a cartoon that matches some information from my sources: Amiri had defected, had little or no valuable information, was depressed over his family back in Iran, and wanted to return.

In more effective words, the cartoon Amiri to the cartoon US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (from Khodnevis):  "I am your servant. I have a wife and children....Please be a lady and say you abducted me and wanted to bring disaster upon me."

Comments

[Kurt]

Yes, without any sources, I basically gleamed that over this story. I just had to wonder if there was anything more.

May be too early to tell, but is there any hint of a quid pro quo? I know Secretary Clinton brought up the three hikers.

[Catherine]

Iran nuclear scientist drops clue about his disappearance last year
Shahram Amiri says he was 'not completely free, not completely in jail.' Intelligence experts say his remarks suggest he defected; he may have asked to leave the U.S. because he missed his family.
July 14, 2010 | 4:58 p.m.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iran-amiri-20100715%2C0%2C4651978.story" rel="nofollow">http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/l...

[Catherine]

Iran’s State-Run Media Treads Cautiously on Amiri Story
July 14th, 2010 by Arash Aramesh

Since the evening of July 12, when Shahram Amiri, an Iranian nuclear scientists who was reportedly in the United States for almost a year, showed up at the doorsteps of the Interest Section of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Washington, D.C., state-run media in Iran have treated the story with caution and, at times, even with silence. ..........

It is unclear why the Iranian government has decided not to exploit the story. Some say that Iran and the US government worked out a deal so Amiri could be exchanged for the three American hikers held by Iran. Some analysts have argued that Iran is not sure whether Amiri is a hero or a traitor. These analysts claim that Tehran is very worried that Amiri defected on his own and then had a change of heart and decided to return to Iran.
http://www.insideiran.org/media-analysis/iran%25E2%2580%2599s-state-run-media-treads-cautiously-on-amiri-story/" rel="nofollow">http://www.insideiran.org/media-analysis/iran%E...

[riskability]

Psychologist: What kind of mental pressure they put you through in America?
Shahram Amiri: They were getting me In-N-Out cheeseburgers without french fries.

[riskability]

Blue's Clues

1- CIA paid him $5 million by the agency to provide intelligence, 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 , "Anything he got is now beyond his reach, thanks to the financial sanctions on Iran"
2- Amiri said CIA agents had tried to pressure him into helping them with their propaganda against his homeland and offered him $50 million

1- The payments are part of a clandestine called "brain drain.", Amiri, is known to have worked at Iran's Malek-e-Ashtar Industrial University, which CIA think is linked to the Revolutionary Guard Corps, a powerful entity accused of activities ranging from weapons research to supporting terrorist groups.

2 - Amiri, who flashed victory signs at the airport, said that he knew little of Iran's main nuclear enrichment site. "I'm a simple researcher. A normal person would know more about Natanz than me."

1 - A series of contradictory Internet videos published this spring. In some, he claimed to have been abducted, drugged and subjected to CIA torture to get him to talk. In other recording, Amiri insisted that he had come to the United States of his own accord and said he was living in Tucson while pursuing a PhD. . there is a FUNNY TWIST here (all produced with help from the CIA) as a matter of FACT. unquestionable actual FACT.

2 - U.S. officials said Amiri's family was a main factor in his decision to return. "He just wanted to see his family and, unfortunately, he chose a dumb way to do it, lying about what happened to him here to try to build up his credibility back home."

"We dont want to be told the truth, We want the truth to be told"

[Catherine]

Clues Suggest Amiri Defection Was an Iranian Plant

U.S. officials are explaining Iranian scientist Shahram Amiri's return to Iran as the result of a defector having a change of heart because of his concern about Iranian government threats to his family. Iran and Amiri himself have insisted that it is a simple case of a victim of abduction escaping his captors.

But several features of the story of Amiri's defection suggest that Amiri may have been acting on Iranian government orders to defect temporarily in order to embarrass the U.S. government. .........
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=52174" rel="nofollow">http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=52174

[Catherine]

Not to be outdone, Tehran Bureau also jumps on the "Iranian plant" bandwagon:

Was Amiri a Double Agent?
Strong reasons to suspect nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri, purported defector and self-described kidnap victim, acted at behest of Iranian intelligence.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2010/07/iranian-scientist.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranb...

[Catherine]

And the NYT is out to make Amiri's life hell now that he's back:
U.S. Says Scientist Aided C.I.A. While Still in Iran
The Iranian scientist who American officials say defected to the United States, only to return to Tehran on Thursday, had been an informant for the Central Intelligence Agency inside Iran for several years, providing information about the country’s nuclear program, according to United States officials.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/16/world/middleeast/16iran.html?_r=1&ref=middleeast" rel="nofollow">http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/16/world/middlee...

As foreign minister Moutakki said the other day - they'd have to look into the details of the case first and *then* decide if Amiri's a hero or not.....

[Catherine]

Now Iranian bloggers are chiming in and some are not impressed with Amiri's claims he was abducted by U.S. secret agents:
Iranian Bloggers: Amiri Was A Double Agent
http://www.rferl.org/content/Iranian_Bloggers_Amiri_Was_A_Double_Agent/2101634.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.rferl.org/content/Iranian_Bloggers_A...