Shahram Amiri: Iran defector story just keeps getting stranger
Iranian nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri is back home with his family 鈥� and likely undergoing some friendly questioning about the strange story of his defection to the United States. If 鈥渄efection鈥� in fact is what it was, because the story just keeps getting stranger.
Reports Sunday paint a murky picture: That the CIA now thinks Amiri may have been a double agent; That the US wanted to swap him for three US hikers in custody in Tehran, who in fact were spies themselves; That Amiri had been a US informant for several years before he left Iran; That he was one of two US spies spirited out of Iran when the CIA feared their cover was about to be blown.
The British newspaper the Sunday Telegraph reports that the CIA suspects that , sent here to find out how much the US knows about Iran鈥檚 nuclear program.
Why else would he have been allowed to travel to Saudi Arabia, given his knowledge of secret information back home and given that he left his young family behind? And why, then, are US officials revealing so much about the case 鈥� including the $5 million Amiri was offered to defect?
鈥淚t might look as if the CIA is taking revenge on Amiri for returning to Iran and that by telling the US media about his cooperation and long record as an agent they are simply signing his death warrant and ensuring that the Iranian authorities would eventually execute him,鈥� a CIA analyst 鈥渨ith direct knowledge of the case鈥� told the Sunday Telegraph.
Some bloggers in Iran have the same suspicion, according to Iran-watcher Golnaz Esfandiari at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Blogger 鈥淕reen 8鈥� says the whole case is a 鈥渘ational brainwashing scenario鈥� by the Iranian establishment, , who translates the blog posts from Farsi into English.
Green 8 sees it all in the context of the Iranian opposition 鈥淕reen Movement.鈥� 鈥淪ome have to believe that the establishment is engaged in a head-to-head war with the United States (the enemy) and that any domestic opposition is being supported by this enemy,鈥� Green 8 writes.
鈥淔ermesk鈥� says Iranians should not be taken in by Amiri鈥檚 tale of having been kidnapped by the CIA, then being freed to appear in several contradictory videos. 鈥淢r. Amiri you should know that we are duped into believing your fake story.鈥�
Quoting current and former US intelligence officials, the Washington Post reports that Amiri 鈥渨as among a small network of spies inside Iran that had provided intelligence about nuclear programs and sites for several years.鈥�
Amiri and another informant were pressured to leave Iran after one had become 鈥渟loppy鈥� in communicating, bringing suspicion by intelligence and security officials in Iran. But now, , 鈥淭he CIA is expected to conduct a damage assessment to determine whether any sources or methods were compromised by Amiri's return.鈥�
Once he returned to Iran, Amiri claimed that US officials wanted to exchange him for three hikers now being held in Iran. Amiri says US agents acknowledged to him that the hikers in fact were spies.
For now, Amiri is being portrayed as a hero in Iran. But he may have in mind the fate of two of Saddam Hussein鈥檚 sons-in-law, who defected with their wives and children to Jordan.
鈥淎ll is forgiven,鈥� Saddam said in luring them back to Iraq. Within days, both had been killed.
Related:
Iran nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri arrives home. What next?
Iran nuclear defector: Three reasons he might have gone back
