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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| U.S. paid Iranian nuke scientist $5 million for aid to CIA |
| 2010-07-15 |
| The Iranian nuclear scientist who claimed to have been abducted by the CIA before departing for his homeland Wednesday was paid more than $5 million by the agency to provide intelligence on Iran's nuclear program, U.S. officials said. Shahram Amiri is not obligated to return the money but might be unable to access it after breaking off what U.S. officials described as significant cooperation with the CIA and abruptly returning to Iran. Officials said he might have left out of concern that the Tehran government would harm his family. "Anything he got is now beyond his reach, thanks to the financial sanctions on Iran," a U.S. official said. "He's gone, but his money's not. We have his information, and the Iranians have him." That sounds...ominous. Whether the agency received an adequate return on its investment in Amiri is difficult to assess. The size of the payment might offer some measure of the value of the information he shared. But it could also reflect a level of eagerness within the U.S. intelligence community for meaningful information on Iran. The U.S. official said the payments reflected the value of the information gleaned. "The support is keyed to what the person's done, including how their material has checked out over time," said the official, who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity surrounding the case. "You don't give something for nothing." The transfer of millions of dollars into Amiri-controlled accounts also seems to bolster the U.S. government's assertions that Amiri was neither abducted nor brought to the United States against his will. Given the amount of money he was provided, a second U.S. official said, "I'm sure he could have been very happy here for a long time." |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #7 Either way, he dies flat broke. Only outstanding question is how soon. |
| Posted by: Mike N. 2010-07-15 21:16 |
| #6 well, he either tells the Iranians he gave the CIA no info - which would seem to indicate (via $5 million greenbacks) that he is lying, and they torture/imprison/kill him; or he tells them all the juicy info he gave up for the $5 million and they/torture/imprison/kill him. Sucks to be him, as they'll surely take that money before he can get it |
| Posted by: Frank G 2010-07-15 18:54 |
| #5 He is SO toast. |
| Posted by: Fester Glatch7715 2010-07-15 15:50 |
| #4 Speaking to journalists after a flight via Qatar, Amiri repeated his earlier claims that he was snatched while in the Saudi holy city of Medina and carried off to the United States. The first months were full of intense pressures, he claimed. "I was under the harshest mental and physical torture," he said at the Tehran airport, with his young son sitting on his lap. He also claimed that Israeli agents were present during the interrogations and that CIA officers offered him $50 million to remain in America. He gave no further details to back up the claims or shed any new light on his time in the United States, but promised to reveal more later. "I have some documents proving that I've not been free in the United States and have always been under the control of armed agents of U.S. intelligence services," Amiri told reporters. Previously he claimed the CIA "pressured me to help with their propaganda against Iran," he said, including offering him up to $10 million to talk to U.S. media and claim to have documents on a laptop against Iran. He said he refused to take the money. Amiri refused to say how — if under guard — he could have escaped U.S. agents to release videos in which he alleges that he had been snatched by American and Saudi kidnap teams while on a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. He said that to disclose such information now could harm national security, and said he would explain everything later. Yeah...later. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2010-07-15 15:36 |
| #3 Very generous of the CIA to let him use YouTube and a webcam, not to mention the $50 million offer, after he'd been tortured so much. |
| Posted by: Clyde Ulamp8999 2010-07-15 14:22 |
| #2 If he shows up dead in Iran, he might have given us worthwhile information. If he thrives, was he a double? Or maybe they know that killing him validates his data, so they keep him thriving as disception? Or maybe we know that and he is a triple reverse penetration agent? Or maybe he's a dope? Wilderness of Mirrors.... |
| Posted by: NoMoreBS 2010-07-15 12:50 |
| #1 Looks like they fed him well too. |
| Posted by: Lumpy Anguting2786 2010-07-15 12:22 |