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Iranian Bloggers: Amiri Was A Double Agent


Iranian nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri is welcomed by family members upon his arrival at Imam Khomeini Airport in Tehran on July 15.
Iranian nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri is welcomed by family members upon his arrival at Imam Khomeini Airport in Tehran on July 15.
A number of Iranian bloggers have cast doubt on the claims made by Iranian scientist Shahram Amiri, including his claims of being abducted by U.S. secret agents and the reason he returned to Iran.

"Sibestan" believes Amiri is lying and hiding something, and suggests that he may be a double agent.

The blogger writes that it is unlikely that Amiri was abducted by the United States while he was in Saudi Arabia: "It is more acceptable that he got close to the Americans or they got close to him, and as a result he was transferred to the United States."

Sibestan believes Amiri returned to Iran because he didn't have important information about Iran's nuclear program: "I think the only true sentence in all the case came from the deputy foreign minister, who said Amiri was not a nuclear scientist."

The blogger says a plausible scenario is that Amiri contacted the United States during his trip to Saudi Arabia with the coordination of Iranian secret services. The blogger believes that U.S. secret agents then transferred Amiri to the United States, where they realized that he didn't have any important information and allowed him to return to Iran.

The blogger says that what Iran has gained in this "game" is knowledge about U.S. interrogation methods and its main questions about Iran's nuclear program.

"Amiri has gone in for free intelligence training and he will now provide the Iranians with the information he has gained," Sibestan writes.

Another blogger, "Green 8," also believes that Amiri's trip to Saudi Arabia was organized by Iranian intelligence and during his stay in the United States he remained in contact with Iran's secret services.

The blogger says the whole case is a "national brainwashing scenario" by the Iranian establishment.

"Some 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."

Blogger "Fermesk Blog" also questions Amiri's claims that he was abducted in Saudi Arabia by U.S. secret agents, and says people are not "duped" to believe Amiri's account.

"Someone who was kidnapped and held by the CIA can easily escape and issue several videos on the Internet. Mr. Amiri you should know that we are duped into believing your fake story."

The blogger says Iranian officials will also not believe Amiri's account, and warns that the Iranian scientist is facing a dark future.

"The Islamic republic wants to have some fun with your story and pressure the United States. But these days will soon be over. Then your life will become dark. The Islamic republic will put you on trial on the charge of espionage for the United States. But your death penalty will not be carried out through [hanging] but it will rather be through a forged accident, or like Masud Ali Mohammadi your life will end in the street with a bomb and then they will put the blame on the United States."

A satirical blog has written that the first picture of Amiri released upon his return to Tehran showed him standing in the transit section of the airport while smiling and flashing the "famous V sign of the Green Movement."

The blogger says it appears that no one had told Amiri that things have changed in Iran during his absence.

-- Golnaz Esfandiari

About This Blog

Persian Letters is a blog that offers a window into Iranian politics and society. Written primarily by Golnaz Esfandiari, Persian Letters brings you under-reported stories, insight and analysis, as well as guest Iranian bloggers -- from clerics, anarchists, feminists, Basij members, to bus drivers.

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