A U.S. official shed some light on the mystery that has become Shamram Amiri’s adventure in the U.S as a defector.
Videos on YouTube tell different stories. One indicated he was here by choice and there has been talk of getting anywhere from $5-50 million dollars for his contributions. Another video indicated he’d been kidnapped by CIA.
The official said the following Amiri’s choice to go back to Iran:
“Amiri wasn’t kidnapped and he wasn’t coerced. He made the decision to come here without his family. You’d have to ask him why. Defectors are human beings; in this country, they make their own choices. He made up his mind; in the United States, at least, he has that right. Amiri wanted to see his family again and-sadly-he chose a stupid way to do it, lying about what happened to him here to try to build up his credibility back home. That’s apparently the only avenue he saw to make it happen.
About the money:
“If a foreign asset has provided good, important information at personal risk-intelligence our country needs-they typically get paid. The support is keyed to what the person’s done, including how their material has stood up over time-you don’t give something for nothing. When you resettle a defector, and that’s by no means a common occurrence, you basically put together a long-term benefits package. They’ve helped the United States, and we, in return, help them. You want them to be self-sufficient, and not just blow or lose what they get and be in a tough spot.
What happens to the money now?
Anything he got is now beyond his reach, thanks to the financial sanctions on Iran. He’s gone, but the money’s still here. We also have his information.
What’s his value to the U.S. Intelligence community?
As a source, he was essentially played out. What he had to give, he’d given. Amiri gave us insights into Iran’s nuclear program. That’s not something that happened in a day, a week, or a month. He’d been active for quite a while. That’s why his departure from Washington, in intelligence terms, wasn’t that big a deal.
What will happen to him now?
“The Iranians wound up with him. That’s what they got-the short end, to be certain, but they’ll try to get the maximum propaganda value out of him. That’s already started. And his safety depends on him sticking to that fairy tale about pressure and torture. His challenge is to try to convince the Iranian security forces that he never cooperated with the United States. It’s a tall order. He’s gambling on them being dumb and having no evidence of what he did. I’m not sure I’d make that bet.