Iranian Nuke Scientist: I Fled US Kidnappers

Iranian TV airs footage of man claiming to be missing atomic researcher
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 30, 2010 4:40 AM CDT
Iranian Nuke Scientist: I Fled US Kidnappers
"I could be arrested again by American security agents any minute," the man in the video says. "I am not free here and I do not have permission to contact my family or others."   (YouTube)

A man who says he is missing nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri has appeared in a video shown on Iranian TV claiming to have fled his American captors. "A few minutes ago I succeeded in escaping US security agents in Virginia," the man says. "I am producing this video in a safe place. I could be re-arrested at any time." Amiri disappeared in Saudi Arabia a year ago and the US has denied abducting him, although ABC reported earlier this year that he had defected to the US and was providing intelligence on Iran's nuclear program.

Two conflicting videos showing a man who looks like Amiri surfaced earlier this month, Reuters notes. In one, he says he has been kidnapped by the CIA, taken to the US, and tortured. In the other, he says he is studying in the US. The man in this newest video says the earlier video is real and the "studying" one is a fake. A US official says it's "ludicrous for anyone to suggest that this individual was kidnapped by the United States." (More Shahram Amiri stories.)

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