An Iranian nuclear scientist whom Tehran says was abducted by US spies last year has taken refuge at Pakistan’s embassy in Washington, state media reported yesterday.
“Shahram Amiri, the abducted Iranian expert, took refuge in Iran’s interest section in Washington hours ago,” state television’s Web site said.
Mehr news agency said Amiri, who was “abducted by Americans, went to Iran’s interest section ... and asked for a quick return to Tehran.”
State news agency IRNA, meanwhile, quoted an “informed source” from the Iranian foreign ministry as saying that its officials had “contacted the Iranian interest section in Washington, which confirmed the report that Shahram Amiri had taken refuge there.”
Iran’s interests in the US are managed by the Pakistan embassy as Tehran and Washington have had no diplomatic ties for more than three decades.
Neither the Pakistan embassy nor US State Department officials were available for comment.
Iranian officials have long said that Amiri was kidnapped by US agents from Saudi Arabia last year.
Iran last week said it had submitted “evidence” to the Swiss embassy that Amiri was abducted by US intelligence agents. The Swiss embassy manages Washington’s interests in Iran.
“We expect that based on the US administration’s obligations ... the US authorities will announce the results of their investigation regarding this Iranian national,” Iraninan foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanaparast had said.
On June 29, Iranian television screened a video of a man claiming to be Amiri and saying that he had managed to escape from the hands of US intelligence agents in Virginia.
“I could be re-arrested at any time by US agents ... I am not free and I’m not allowed to contact my family. If something happens and I do not return home alive, the US government will be responsible,” he said.
“I ask Iranian officials and organizations that defend human rights to raise pressure on the US government for my release and return to my country,” the man said, adding that he has not “betrayed” Iran.
US officials have dismissed the allegations in the Iranian broadcast.
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
‘WATER WARFARE’: A Pakistani official called India’s suspension of a 65-year-old treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus River ‘a cowardly, illegal move’ Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. New Delhi did not publicly produce evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to
TRUMP EFFECT: The win capped one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history after the Conservatives had led the Liberals by more than 20 points Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday pledged to win US President Donald Trump’s trade war after winning Canada’s election and leading his Liberal Party to another term in power. Following a campaign dominated by Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart “a new path forward” in a world “fundamentally changed” by a US that is newly hostile to free trade. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” said Carney, who led the central banks of Canada and the UK before entering politics earlier this year. “We will win this trade war and
Armed with 4,000 eggs and a truckload of sugar and cream, French pastry chefs on Wednesday completed a 121.8m-long strawberry cake that they have claimed is the world’s longest ever made. Youssef El Gatou brought together 20 chefs to make the 1.2 tonne masterpiece that took a week to complete and was set out on tables in an ice rink in the Paris suburb town of Argenteuil for residents to inspect. The effort overtook a 100.48m-long strawberry cake made in the Italian town of San Mauro Torinese in 2019. El Gatou’s cake also used 350kg of strawberries, 150kg of sugar and 415kg of
RSS