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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Iran wants nuke plant spy back (and a pony) |
| 2007-05-24 |
| The Iranian government is calling for the release of a former Phoenix nuclear engineer arrested for taking software from Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station to Iran. Iran's foreign minister on Wednesday sent a letter to U.S. officials asking for details about the arrest of Mohammad Alavi, 49, who is being held without bail at a federal detention facility in Arizona. The minister demanded Alavi's immediate release in the letter sent to the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, which responds to American interests in the country. Officials with the U.S. State Department in Washington D.C. could not be reached for comment Wednesday morning. Alavi, an Iranian native who lived in the United States as a naturalized citizen for 30 years, worked as an engineer for 16 years at Palo Verde, the nation's largest nuclear power plant, about 50 miles west of downtown Phoenix. In August, Alavi resigned from his post at Palo Verde and moved to Tehran. He was arrested April 8 as he stepped off a plane in Los Angeles. He had returned to the United States with his wife for the birth of their first child. Alavi has been charged with a single count of violating a trade embargo with Iran, which carries a maximum penalty of 24 months in prison. Trial is set for July 3. Authorities say when Alavi left for Iran, he took a laptop computer containing diagrams, schematics and details of the power plant. In the letter demanding Alavi's release, Iran's foreign minister cited the Vienna convention and called for "clarification" of Alavi's situation. He's guilty and will be spending time as a guest of the government. Clear enough? A report about the letter is the top posting on the English-language Web site of the Iranian Republic News Agency, the government's official news outlet. |
| Posted by:Jackal |
| #6 We ought to be able to hang him ... And then deport him. Pine box deportations. Yer opening up whole new vistas for me, Bobby. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-05-24 13:07 |
| #5 This is probably why Iran recently arrested two Americans in Tehran. Someone is looking to cut a deal for his return. |
| Posted by: DonM 2007-05-24 11:12 |
| #4 I'm hoping the wife was sent back so the baby's born in Iran, where the lil shithead deserves to be a citizen |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-05-24 09:41 |
| #3 Once the gentleman has been convicted and jailed for something, other charges can be investigate and sent to trial at our leisure. Just like sending all those Mafioso to prison for tax evasion on their ill-gotten gains. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-05-24 07:39 |
| #2 Wossamatter, Zen? Feeling generous this morning? How about aiding a known terrorist gubbamint? We ought to be able to hang him. And then deport him. |
| Posted by: Bobby 2007-05-24 07:09 |
| #1 He was arrested April 8 as he stepped off a plane in Los Angeles. He had returned to the United States with his wife for the birth of their first child. Trying for that "anchor baby"? Alavi has been charged with a single count of violating a trade embargo with Iran, which carries a maximum penalty of 24 months in prison. Whaddabout FELONY GRAND THEFT? That code prolly cost millions to write. This shithead needs a couple of DECADES in prison, not just years. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-05-24 05:06 |