Iran executes nuclear scientist who had ‘defected’ to US

An Iranian nuclear scientist who had defected to the US was executed in Iran, according to reports.

Shahram Amiri was a nuclear researcher at Malek Ashtar University of Technology and worked for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization. He is said to have had in-depth knowledge of Iran’s nuclear program.

Amiri disappeared briefly while on pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia in 2009 and resurfaced in Washington some time later.

While in the US, he recorded and posted a series of videos, first claiming he had been kidnapped by US and Saudi agents and forced to reveal sensitive information while “under intense psychological pressure,” and in a second video, saying he was living in Arizona and wanted to study there. In a later post, he said he wanted to go home.

He was detained in 2010 after arriving home and was given a long prison sentence.

US officials had claimed that Amiri had defected of his own free will and provided “useful information” to the US.