Iranian nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri, thought by Tehran to have been abducted by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), came to the United States on his own will and left, a spokesman for the Department of State said.
Amiri disappeared during an Umrah pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Aarabia, in early June 2009. Tehran accused the CIA of abducting the scientist because of his involvement in suspected Iranian nuclear weapons program.
Media reports on Tuesday said that Amiri had resurfaced at the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington, which represents Iran's interests in the United States, and sought assistance to return to Tehran.
"Well, he chose to leave Iran. He chose to come to the United States. He has chosen to return to Iran," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told a daily press briefing.
Before disappearing in 2009, Amiri worked as an expert on radioactive isotopes for medical use at Malek-Ashtar University of Technology in Tehran. Iranian officials repeatedly denied his involvement in the country's nuclear program.
Some western media sources suggested that Amiri had sought asylum abroad and chosen to cooperate with the CIA.
"He chose to come here, and we supported him in coming here. And he chose to go home, and we freely allowed him to do that. That is what we do in this country. He came here of his own free will, and he has departed and returned to Iran under his own free will," Crowley added.
International pressure on Iran, suspected by the West of pursuing a secret nuclear weapons program, increased in early February when Tehran announced it had begun enriching uranium to 20% in lieu of an agreement on an exchange that would provide it with fuel for a research reactor.
MOSCOW, July 16 (RIA Novosti)
