Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Iran Nuclear Scientist Defected to US - ABC

Shahram Amiri
Press TV File Photo. 17 October 2009

ABC News reported today that the missing Iranian nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri has indeed defected to the United States and is working with the CIA. Mr. Amiri disappeared while he was on a hajj trip to Mecca. He is believed to be one of Iran’s top nuclear scientists working at newly disclosed Fardu uranium enrichment plant near Qum.

Last October, the Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki had accused the US of abducting Mr. Amiri and asked for his return.

If the ABC report is verified, it would represent an intelligence coup for the US.

Amiri’s disappearance “was part of a long-planned CIA operation to get him to defect,” ABC reported, citing an unnamed US intelligence official.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Did he defect?

Was he kidnapped?

Or is he a "plant" by Iranian intelligence?

Anonymous said...

Recycled news from ABC. Move on...

Anonymous said...

That should be usual behaivor

a company can buy/steal the good employee of other copmany,


some people are buyable
if enough money is offered, you buy them.

Anonymous said...

Once a US embassy employee in Turkey told his boss ! (upon being criticised for being so hard on Iranians...)

regardless of what I asked these Iranians to bring me for documents and informations, they volunteered them within 24 hours.. I am sure if I had requested the ownership documents of the White House from any Iranian... he would have brought it to me the next day...

Iranians have given "Khali Bandi" a new definition. I suppose Mr Amiri should he be an authentic defector had his white house documentations with him ;)

Scythian said...

Tell me why would Iran need a double agent?

Also, I don't think this guy has anything useful in terms of technological know-how to warrant him working in US nuke research facilities to assist his spying.
This guy is defecting simply for a better life, he is being given asylum because he can offer information on Iranian nuclear facilities, his technological know-how is useless.
Correct me if I am wrong.

PersianPride said...

Of course there's another possible side to this story. What if this Iranian "defector" is simply a double agent planted by the Iranian Intelligence Services and specifically trained by Iranians to pass lie detectors and the such?

The Soviets did a lot like that during the cold war (as well as the Americans).

PersianPride said...

Note that this is my second post since my first one somehow got deleted for some unknown reason

PersianPride said...

Dear Scythian. No defector in the history of the world has been given access to anything in the country he has defected to. Most intelligence agencies don't trust defectors exactly for that very reason that they may be double agents. The whole purpose of a double agent is to mislead and misleading the enemy is a basic component of counter-intelligence (make note of the word "counter"). A double agent can easily confuse the enemy by giving them a bunch of almost useless information and some half-truths plus some completely wrong information throwing that agency off the mark by miles.

Now in the case of Iran, they have already used double agents successfully in the past. One well documented case is when in the early noughties they busted up an entire espionage ring in Iran (and this was announced by the Bush Administration). How did they achieve this? By using a double agent. The CIA approached this one guy in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and he then informed his superiors of the contact. The Iranian Intelligence services then ordered him to continue playing spy and glean as much info as possible from them. Through subsequent contacts with the local agent and his accomplices the Iranians managed to draw a complete picture of one of the local CIA networks in Iran (a fairly big one if the CIA report is to believed) and eventually arrest the lot. Check it; it's in the news.

Therefore in answering your question I must say that although personally I think this guy is probably just some low ranking schmuck with 50s technology know-how hoping to find a better life in the US (maybe working as an estate agent or something like that if he's lucky!), I still believe that a double agent can do much to help confuse western intelligence agencies on Iranian nuclear activities. Please note that I'm saying all this out of no affinity for the despotic regime in Iran and simply stating facts.

Anonymous said...

Keep being cautious.
False reports about 'defections' have been used in the past to advance hidden goals of secret services.
For example the CIA could be trying to seed mistrust in the Iranian scientific community this way, or provoke some specific Iranian activity, which they want to observe.
There is not the slightest proof or evidence, that Shahram Amiri really has been defecting. He could be dead as well. Nobody knows ...

Anonymous said...

they abducted him and have been torturing or manipulating.. otherwords brainwashing him.

had he really defected, his family would have been with him.