23 July 2010 By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed Until now, the case of Iranian
scientist Shahram Amiri has been shrouded in mystery. Did he defect or was he
kidnapped? Is he a nuclear scientist or a "simple researcher? If the Iranian Shahram Amiri is
truly a double-agent, then this represents the second time that the Americans
have been taken in by a poisoned commodity. The first was the Jordanian double
agent who blew himself up in Afghanistan in the midst of US personnel [killing 7
CIA officers]. This time, Amiri has returned to Tehran amidst celebration and
sarcastic laughter [at the US] while he was similarly welcomed in Washington a
year ago with celebration and sarcastic laugher [at Iran]. Creating immediate drama, Amiri
appeared in 3 video recordings posted on the internet. In two of these videos he
claimed that he had been abducted, whilst in the third he said that he travelled
to the US to study, before finally returning to Tehran in a new chapter of this
exciting propaganda war. We must acknowledge that the
Iranian regime has won this round, after suffering greatly from the propaganda
that was launched against it internally and externally. Whether Amiri returned
of his own free will or not, it is clear that the Iranian regime has learned, in
just a short period of time, how to skillfully manage a political propaganda
war. The Iranian regime handled the news of the arrest of the leader of the
Jundalla [resistance] movement like something out of a James Bond movie. Prior
to that, the Iranian regime used top Iranian reformist Mr. Mohamed Ali Abtahi to
its own benefit following his arrest, forcing him to post a video message on the
internet from prison to the Iranian public, in which he apologized for his
actions and leveled accusations at his comrades in the reformist movement. While
now we are looking at images of Shahram Amiri embracing his son upon his joyous
return. Amiri's story is extremely
confusing. He says that he was visiting Medina when he was kidnapped and drugged
and forcibly taken by airplane to the US. There are two flaws in his story.
Firstly it is extremely unusual for people to be kidnapped during public events;
rather it is usually the other way around, with individuals who are on the
no-fly list or under surveillance seizing the opportunity of attending an
international sports event or religious festive to make their escape. This is
something that Iranians have done before; with athletes, diplomats, or officials
using the pretext of visiting a foreign country or a holy site to escape. The
second flaw in Amiri's account of being kidnapped is that the Americans allowed
him to visit the embassy [to obtain a visa] and return to Iran when it is more
likely for nuclear scientists to disappear or even be killed, because of the
high military value that they represent. It is hard to believe that the
Americans kidnapped him only to cut him loose [to return to Tehran] as if he
were a tourist who suddenly got bored of travelling. The Americans do not allow
their prisoners in Guantanamo Bay to walk a couple of steps to the bathroom
without being shackled and guarded…therefore this does not make any sense.
Another theory suggests that he
might have been tricked into seeking [political] asylum [in the US], but changed
his mind after arriving in Washington. Another possibility is that he
went there of his own free will, and after the Americans obtained all of the
information that they needed from him over the past 12 months, they allowed him
to return. The flaw in this story is that his return would be bad for the
Americans, as it discourages other [Iranians] who wish to defect from doing so.
There is another possibility
based upon our understanding of the nature of the Iranian regime, which is well
known for its brutality in dealing with the opposition. Perhaps they threatened
his family, his wife and son; after all they are not unfamiliar with such
practices. For example, when the Iranian security forces decided to suppress the
Iranian reformists last year, they arrested the daughter of Sheikh Hashemi
Rafsanjani, and they pursued the family members of [Mehdi] Karroubi and [Mir
Hossein] Moussavi. The final scenario is wildly
imaginative, and that is that this man is a decoy or double-agent working for
Iranian security and that he was sent to America as a so-called defector in
order to obtain information and tarnish their enemy's reputation. We have seen
similar cases to this, for example following the assassination of former
Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri; eye-witnesses came forward to report
false information that was initially taken on face value. However the truth
later unfolded and it was revealed that these witnesses were recruited to spread
false information in order weaken the investigation into this crime and
undermine the credibility of actual witnesses. Sometimes the truth is much
simpler than all of this; let us recall that Amiri is only 32 years old, and
could be like many other top scientists who are also politically naïve. This
would explain if he was tricked by the Americans, or had a change of heart.
Al Rashed is the general manager of Al -Arabiya television. He is also the
former editor-in-chief of Asharq Al- Awsat, and the leading Arabic weekly
magazine, Al Majalla. He is also a senior Columnist in the daily newspapers of
Al Madina and Al Bilad. He is a US post-graduate degree in mass communications.
He has been a guest on many TV current affairs programs. He is currently based
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