Iranian scientist left his US$5m behind
Source: Agencies |
July 17, 2010, Saturday
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THE Iranian scientist who defected to the United States and has now returned home amid an escalating propaganda war between Tehran and Washington left behind the US$5 million a US official says he had been paid for "significant" information about his country's nuclear programs.
The CIA paid Shahram Amiri a total of US$5 million to provide intelligence, but Amiri did not take the money with him, the US official said.
The funds were barred by Treasury sanctions that prohibit the flow of American dollars to Iran.
"Anything he got is now beyond his reach, thanks to the financial sanctions on Iran," said the official. "He's gone, but the money's still here."
The official said Amiri had provided the CIA with "significant, original information" that the agency was able to independently verify, although he would not detail the scope of the intelligence provided.
There was also no indication, the official said, that Amiri might have been a double agent sent by the Iranians to learn what the CIA knows about its suspected nuclear weapons program.
Still, several former American intelligence officers said that Iranian intelligence officials would be expected to debrief Amiri to try to learn every last detail about the exchanges that took place between him and his CIA handlers -- a process that could take weeks or even months.
The former officers said Iranian intelligence would try to exploit any information to hunt for existing American spies.
In another twist, yesterday's New York Times reported that Amiri had been a CIA informant inside Iran for several years before defecting.
US officials quoted but not named by the newspaper said he had provided valuable information on Iran's nuclear program, including how a Tehran university served as headquarters for Iran's nuclear program.
Iran's leaders are expected to use Amiri to ring up as many propaganda points as possible against Washington, and within hours of the former defector's arrival in Tehran, the war of words heated up.
The US says Amiri was a willing defector who changed his mind and decided to board a plane home from Washington.
Amiri has told a different tale, claiming he was snatched while on a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
The CIA paid Shahram Amiri a total of US$5 million to provide intelligence, but Amiri did not take the money with him, the US official said.
The funds were barred by Treasury sanctions that prohibit the flow of American dollars to Iran.
"Anything he got is now beyond his reach, thanks to the financial sanctions on Iran," said the official. "He's gone, but the money's still here."
The official said Amiri had provided the CIA with "significant, original information" that the agency was able to independently verify, although he would not detail the scope of the intelligence provided.
There was also no indication, the official said, that Amiri might have been a double agent sent by the Iranians to learn what the CIA knows about its suspected nuclear weapons program.
Still, several former American intelligence officers said that Iranian intelligence officials would be expected to debrief Amiri to try to learn every last detail about the exchanges that took place between him and his CIA handlers -- a process that could take weeks or even months.
The former officers said Iranian intelligence would try to exploit any information to hunt for existing American spies.
In another twist, yesterday's New York Times reported that Amiri had been a CIA informant inside Iran for several years before defecting.
US officials quoted but not named by the newspaper said he had provided valuable information on Iran's nuclear program, including how a Tehran university served as headquarters for Iran's nuclear program.
Iran's leaders are expected to use Amiri to ring up as many propaganda points as possible against Washington, and within hours of the former defector's arrival in Tehran, the war of words heated up.
The US says Amiri was a willing defector who changed his mind and decided to board a plane home from Washington.
Amiri has told a different tale, claiming he was snatched while on a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
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