Nuclear facility in Qom
Photo: AP
IAEA inspectors leave for Iran
Photo: AP
Intelligence sources: Iranian scientist led IAEA to Qom
Sunday Telegraph reports defecting physicist led UN inspectors to secret nuclear site in Iran
An Iranian nuclear scientist who went missing in Saudi Arabia six months ago revealed secrets about the Islamic Republic's nuclear program to the UN, the Sunday Telegraph reported.
Report
Mehr news agency quotes Tehran Foreign Ministry as saying "Shahram Amiri, Iran's nuclear scientist who had gone to Hajj in Saudi Arabia, was handed over to Washington'
Iran claimed last week that Amiri was detained in Mecca, where he arrived on a pilgrimage in May, and taken to the US. The scientist was involved in nuclear physics research at Tehran University.
His disappearance came just months before the UN International Atomic Energy Agency revealed a secret nuclear facility near Qom, giving rise to rumors that Amiri had provided information on the site.
The French intelligence sources confirm the rumors, saying that Amiri met with IAEA inspectors in Frankfurt just hours before they arrived in Iran.
Amiri is an award-winning physicist, and received high honors while working at the Qom facility.
Iran's speaker of parliament, Ali Larijani, condemned the US and Saudi Arabia for "terrorist behavior" last week, though the latter denied claims it had not been involved in the scientist's disappearance.
"The agency made contact with the scientist last year when Amiri visited Frankfurt in connection with his research work," the Telegraph quoted the French Intelligence Online as saying.
"A German businessman acted as go-between. A final contact was made in Vienna when Amiri travelled to Austria to assist the Iranian representative at the IAEA. Shortly afterwards, the scientist went on pilgrimage to Mecca and hasn't been seen since."
