Iranian scientist allegedly abducted by US on his way home
Shahram Amiri (pictured) vanished last year on a pilgrimage to Makkah. The Iranian government has claimed that he was abducted by the CIA with the help of Saudi agents.
Tehran stuck to its abduction theory, but reports eventually surfaced, saying that the scientist was cooperating with the Americans by providing them with important information concerning the Iranian nuclear programme.
He reappeared in June of this year in a number of videos released on the internet or broadcast on Iranian media.
In the first one, the scientist speaking via webcam claimed that he had been abducted by the Saudis and the Americans. In the second, he said he was living freely in Arizona. In a third video message, he said he escaped because his captors could not handle him.
Late Monday, he showed up at the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, taking refuge in Iran's interest section. Iran and the United States broke off diplomatic relations more than 30 years ago.
Shahram Amiri asked to be repatriated, saying that once home he would talk about his alleged abduction.
The US government said on several occasions that he was free to stay or go back to Iran.
Iranian media reportedly said that Mr Amiri was a researcher at a Tehran university. Other reports have suggested that he worked for the country's atomic energy organisation and had in-depth knowledge of its nuclear programme.
.png)
