Tehran: An Iranian nuclear scientist who
returned home last week from the United States provided
valuable information about the CIA, a semiofficial news agency
reported on Wednesday, adding that his spy`s tale would be made into
a TV movie.
American authorities have claimed Shahram Amiri willingly
defected to the US but changed his mind and decided to return
home without the USD 5 million he had been paid for what a US
official described as "significant" information about his
country`s disputed nuclear programme.
The Fars news agency, which is close to Iran`s powerful
Revolutionary Guard, quoted an unidentified source as saying
Iran`s intelligence agents were in touch with Amiri while he
was in the US and that they won an intelligence battle against
the CIA.
Iran has portrayed the return of Amiri as a blow to
American intelligence services that it says were desperate for
inside information on Iran`s nuclear programme. Iran has
sought to make maximum propaganda gains from the affair,
allowing journalists to cover Amiri`s return, sending a senior
Foreign Ministry official to greet him and preparing to make a
movie about the story.
"This was an intelligence battle between the CIA and us
that was designed and managed by Iran," the source was quoted
as saying. "We had set various goals in this battle and, by
the grace of God, we achieved all our objectives without our
rival getting any real victory."
Amiri claims he was kidnapped by American agents in May
2009 while on a pilgrimage to holy Muslim sites in Saudi
Arabia.
The Fars report suggests Amiri had been planted to
discover how much information the US had gathered about Iran`s
nuclear programme, which Washington believes is aimed at
weapons production. Iran says its nuclear work is only for
energy production and other peaceful purposes.
PTI
