Trading Places: Iranian Scientist “Escapes” to Pakistani Embassy, Good News for American Hikers?………….
“ WASHINGTON — A missing Iranian nuclear scientist, who Tehran claims was abducted by the U.S., has taken refuge at the Pakistani embassy in Washington and is asking to return to his homeland, U.S. and Iranian officials said Tuesday. It was the latest development in a murky case that has been shrouded in mystery since the scientist, Shahram Amiri, disappeared while on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia in June 2009. Iran has repeatedly claimed that the U.S. abducted Amiri – charges the Americans deny. U.S. media reported in March that the 32-year-old scientist had defected to the U.S. and was assisting the CIA in efforts to undermine Iran's disputed nuclear program…….A Pakistani diplomat in Washington said Amiri arrived at the building, which is separate from the main Pakistani embassy building and is located in Washington's Georgetown section, at 6:30 p.m. EDT Monday, and told Iranians there that he had been dropped by what he called his captors…… Amiri indicated he wanted an Iranian passport and transportation to leave the U.S., the diplomat said, adding that Pakistani officials had yet to speak directly to Amiri……..”
This is real bizarre. Somehow he vanished from Saudi Arabia and surfaced in the US. Iranians claimed that American intelligence abducted him with Saudi connivance. It would be odd for American intelligence to bring him to the US without his agreement: presumably allegedly there are other venues to get information out of him. To complicate matters, Pakistanis claim he said that “his captors” had dropped him at the Pakistani embassy.
Was he really abducted by American and (necessarily Saudi) intelligence? Did he come voluntarily? Was it a case of both: first one, then the other, then a change of heart? Where promises made to him that were not kept? Did the Arizona cops catch him on the streets of Tempe?
Are they setting things up to finally release the three American student hikers held in Iran?
Cheers
mhg
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