The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (November 2011)

Since the declaration of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979, the government of Iran has been accused by a number of states, including the United States, Israel and some European countries, of funding, providing equipment, weapons, training and giving sanctuary to terrorists.^[1]

The United States State Department describes Iran as the “most active state sponsor of terrorism.”^[2] US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice elaborated stating, “Iran has been the country that has been in many ways a kind of central banker for terrorism in important regions like Lebanon through Hezbollah in the Middle East, in the Palestinian Territories, and we have deep concerns about what Iran is doing in the south of Iraq.”^[1]

Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps[link]

Ayatollah Khomeini arrives in Iran

After the fall of the Shah, the Islamic Republic of Iran established the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC - Pasdaran-e Inqilab) to domestically promote the government's social policy. The organization is accused of spreading its ideology in neighboring regions by training and funding "terrorist organizations". By 1986, the group had 350,000 members and had acquired a small naval and air force. By 1996, the ground forces numbered 100,000 and the naval forces numbered 20,000. They are believed to use the proxy Al Quds Force to train the Islamic militants. Currently Al Quds conducts training units in Iran and Sudan.^[3]

The Pasdaran also is believed to have connections with underground organizations in the Middle East. They have a strong influence on groups in Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. The largest group of Pasdaran connections is made up of 12,000 Iranians, Afghans, Iraqis, Lebanese Shiites and North Africans who either received training in Iran or during the Afghan War and are presently trained in Sudan, Lebanon, and Iran. The Hezbollah party provides intelligence, logistics and operational units in Lebanon. The second largest operation relates to Kurds, particularly Iraqi Kurds. The third largest is made up of Kashmiris, Balouchis and Afghans.

Pasdaran supports Hezbollah operations in Lebanon, Iraqi Kurdistan, Jordan and Palestine and the Islamic Jihad in Egypt, Turkey and Caucasia.

In 1995, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard held a conference with worldwide organizations accused of engaging in terrorism including the Japanese Red Army, the Armenian Secret Army, the Kurdistan Workers' Party, the Iraqi Da'wah Party, the Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain and Hezbollah in Beirut for the sole purpose of providing training to these organizations supposedly to help in the destabilization of Gulf States and aid assistance to militants in these countries to replace the existing governments with Iran-like regimes.^[3]

The United States State Department claims that this organization provides support for Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad in Israel. They also say that Pasadaran has given much support and training to terrorists supporting the Palestinian resistance. They are also accused of aiding the Iraqi insurgency in southern Iraq.^[3] On September 26, 2007, the United States Senate passed legislation by a vote of 76-22 designating the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization.^[4] U.S. President George W. Bush and Congress labeled the group under the guidelines established by Executive Order 13224 issued after the September 11, 2001 attacks.^[5]

Ministry of Intelligence and Security[link]

Iran is believed to use the Ministry of Intelligence and Security to gather intelligence to plan terrorist attacks. The ministry is believed to use liaison activities with supported terrorist groups and Islamic fundamentalist movements. The ministry itself is believed to carry out some terrorism mostly directed at political dissidents.^[6]

Capture of American hostages[link]

On November 4, 1979, 500 Iranians stormed the American Embassy and took 90 employees and visitors captive. They later released non-Americans, women and African-Americans, and held the 52 remaining Americans hostage for 444 days. The Americans would hold an embargo against Iran and demanded that the hostages be freed. Iran demanded unblocking of Iran's frozen assets in the United States ($24 billion) to release the hostages. Iran also demanded U.S. based Shah of Iran to be arrested and given back to Iran. They would later agree to accept $8 billion in frozen assets in exchange for the release of the hostages.

In 2000, the former hostages sued the Iranian government for state sponsored terrorism under the 1996 Antiterrorism Act. They would win the suit but would not be awarded damages because of a 2002 judgment that the terms of their release barred awarding any damages.^[7]

Hezbollah[link]

President Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy show respect to the victims of 1983 barracks bombing

A mural in Teheran, Iran. The circled portrait on the top right is that of Muhammad Munif Ashmar, a suicide bomber of the group Hezbullah. Sitting next to his rifle, is Ali Munif Ashmar, brother of Muhammad Munif Ashmar, also a suicide bomber of Hezbollah. He leans on a portrait of Ali Khamenei. Under Khamenei's portrait is the date of Ali Munif Ashmar's suicide bombing: "martyred on March 21st 1996 in Adaisseh, Lebanon". The large yellow text on the bottom of the mural reads: "Imam Khomeini: Israel must be destroyed".

During the 1980s and 1990s, a wave of kidnappings, bombings, and assassinations of Western targets, particularly American and Israeli, occurred in Lebanon and other countries. Claiming responsibility for these 200 attacks that led to at least 800 deaths, was the resistance organization of Islamic Jihad. The attacks, attributed to the group, have included:

• The 1982-1983 Tyre headquarters bombings
• The blowing up of a van filled with explosives in front of the U.S. embassy in Beirut killing 58 Americans and Lebanese in 1983.
• The 1983 Beirut barracks bombing of the U.S. Marine and French 'Drakkar' barracks which killed 241 American and 58 French peacekeepers.
• The hijacking of TWA flight 847 holding the 39 Americans on board hostage for weeks in 1985 and murder of one U.S. Navy sailor
• The bombing of the Israeli Embassy killing twenty-nine in 1992
• The bombing of a Jewish community center in Argentina killing 95 in 1994

Islamic Jihad is widely believed to be a nom de guerre of the Lebanese Islamist political movement and social service agency Hezbollah, which was founded in 1982 with many millions of dollars of aid and considerable training and logistical support from the Islamic Republic. Many believe the group promotes the Iranian agenda and that its goal is to overthrow the moderate governments in the area and create Islamic Republics based on that of Iran as well as the destruction of Israel.^[1]

Its motives include assassinations, kidnappings, suicide bombings, and guerilla warfare. It is believed to be one of the Islamic resistance groups that made suicide bombings common use. Other attacks credited to Hezbollah include:

• The attack on the Khobar Towers housing complex in Dharan, Saudi Arabia, killing 19 U.S servicemen in 1996.
• Firing of hundreds of rockets into northern Israel on a daily basis and capture of Israeli soldiers in 2006^[8]

Henry Crumpton, the State Department’s coordinator for counterterrorism stated, “[Iran is] clearly directing a lot of Hezbollah actions. Hezbollah asks their permission to do things, especially if it has broader international implications.” However it seemed that when reformist Iranian President Mohammad Khatami took office in 1996 the Iran-Hezbollah connection declined.^[9] But some commentators believe that the election of the current president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has increased Iranian support for the group.^[10]

Israel[link]

Iran (along with 34 other nations) does not recognize the State of Israel. Israel claims Iran has a historical connection to military attacks in Israel, lending support to groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad. Recently they have been accused of taking control of "many terrorist cells" in Yasser Arafat's Fatah Movement in Palestine and Israel believes they are the architects of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. Israeli intelligence believes that Iran controls the majority of terrorism in Israel.^[11]

Iraq[link]

Claims[link]

Iran has been accused by the United States of giving weapons and support to the Iraqi insurgency (which includes the terrorist group al-Qaeda). The United States State Department claim that weapons are smuggled into Iraq and used to arm Iran's allies among the Shiite militias, including those of the anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi army.^[12] Evidence for this is that weapons, including mortars, rockets and munitions bear Iranian markings. U.S. commanders report that these bombs inflicted 30 percent of all American military casualties in Iraq excluding Anbar province, where these weapons have not been found. Furthermore U.S. intelligence has obtained satellite photographs of three training camps for Iraqi insurgents near Iran's capital where they are allegedly trained guerilla tactics, kidnapping and assassination.^[13]

Admiral and United States Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell stated in an interview with the Council on Foreign Relations that there is overwhelming evidence that Iran is arming the insurgency in Iraq, "The Iranians today, we have clear evidence, are providing the very weapons that are causing U.S. servicemen and women to die. That’s clear, that’s not refuted, that’s not hawkish, that’s not shaded. That is the fact." He stated that Iran is providing explosively formed projectiles, a deadly weapon to the Shiite militants in Iraq.^[14]

During his address to the United States Congress on September 11, 2007, Commanding officer for the United States forces in Iraq, General David Petraeus noted that the multinational forces in Iraq have found that Iran's Quds force has provided training, equipment, funding, and direction to terrorists. “When we captured the leaders of these so-called special groups … and the deputy commander of a Lebanese Hezbollah department that was created to support their efforts in Iraq, we’ve learned a great deal about how Iran has, in fact, supported these elements and how those elements have carried out violent acts against our forces, Iraqi forces and innocent civilians.”^[15]

Counter-claims[link]

Despite these claims, no supportive evidence has ever been made viewable to the public or press, and while in the past US officials made the claim that the evidence was held in Iraq's possession and it would be up to them to decide whether to reveal it or not, Iraqi officials have claimed on various occasions that in fact no such evidence exists.^[16]

At one point in May 2008 the Iraqi military was going to present a display to press representatives of alleged Iranian explosives seized in Iraq, but had to cancel the showing when US experts discovered at the last minute that none of the explosives actually were of Iranian origin.^[17]

A May 2008 Time article detailed the speculative origins of the US' allegations against Iran.^[18]

Iran has denied that it supports the Iraqi insurgency, and claims that it is the presence of US troops that aggravates violence. Abbas Araghchi, Iran's deputy foreign minister, said "For the sake of peace and stability in Iraq we need a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign forces. Violence in Iraq is good for no country in the region. Security of Iraq is our security and stability in Iraq is a necessity for peace and security in the region."^[19] Iran has strong ties with Iraq Shia political groups, and would rather see the Shia dominated government remain in power than have Iraq splinter.^[20] Iraqi prime minister Nouri Maliki has praised Iran for its positive and constructive stance on Iraq, including providing security and fighting terrorism.^[21]

Iraqi officials, including Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, have repeatedly stated that US allegations of Iranian weapons smuggling are not shared by them and represent only the US' personal speculation.^[22]

Taliban insurgency[link]

U.S. and British officials have accused Iran of giving weapons and support to the Taliban insurgency (which is considered by the U.S. as a terrorist organization) in Afghanistan.^[23][24] Chris Alexander, the deputy United Nations representative to Kabul, has stated that the UN has seen no evidence of this, and that weapons and arms are principally smuggled across the porous Pakistani border.^[25] Afghan President Hamid Karzai has praised Iran, saying "we have had, very good, very close relations... so far, Iran has been a helper and a solution".^[25]

Mohsen Rezai, former head of the Revolutionary Guards, has claimed that Iran helped to overthrow the Taliban, with Revolutionary Guard troops fighting alongside the Northern Alliance in the months following the September 11, 2001 attacks.^[26]

Other allegations[link]

Along with the above allegations, Iran is also accused of other acts of terrorism. Including:

• The 1988 murder and kidnapping of Colonel William Higgins in Lebanon.
• The Fatwa placed on Indian-born British author Salman Rushdie for his novel The Satanic Verses.^[1] In April 1996, Mohammad Yazdi, the head of Iran's judiciary stated that "[the fatwah on Rushdie] will finally be carried out someday".
• Mykonos restaurant assassinations. On September 17, 1992, Iranian-Kurdish insurgent leaders Sadegh Sharafkandi, Fattah Abdoli, Homayoun Ardalan and their translator Nouri Dehkordi were assassinated at the Mykonos Greek restaurant in Berlin, Germany. In the Mykonos trial, the courts found Kazem Darabi, an Iranian national who worked as a grocer in Berlin, and Lebanese Abbas Rhayel, guilty of murder and sentenced them to life in prison. Two other Lebanese, Youssef Amin and Mohamed Atris, were convicted of being accessories to murder. In its 10 April 1997 ruling, the court issued an international arrest warrant for Iranian intelligence minister Hojjat al-Islam Ali Fallahian^[27] after declaring that the assassination had been ordered by him with knowledge of supreme leader Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and president Ayatollah Rafsanjani^[28]
• The 1994 AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires, after Argentina's decision to suspend a nuclear technology transfer contract to Tehran.^[29]

See also[link]

	Iran portal
	Politics portal
	Terrorism portal

• State terrorism
• Allegations of state terrorism in Sri Lanka
• Allegations of state terrorism by the United States

References[link]

External links[link]

• State Sponsor of Terrorism Timeline
• REALITE-EU Iran’s Arsenal and Arms Support for Terrorist Groups
• Iran Arming Iraqi Groups Attacking U.S. Troops, Gates Says By Viola Gienger and Tony Capaccio - Jun 30, 2011

State terrorism may refer to acts of terrorism conducted by a state against a foreign state or people. It can also refer to acts of violence by a state against its own people.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Definition[link]

There is neither an academic nor an international legal consensus regarding the proper definition of the word "terrorism".^[6][7] Many scholars believe that the actions of governments can be labeled "terrorism"; however others, including governments, international organizations, private institutions and scholars, believe that the term is only applicable to the actions of non-state actors. Historically, the term terrorism was used to refer to actions taken by governments against their citizens whereas now it is more often perceived as targeting of civilians as part of a strategy directed against governments.^[8] Historian Henry Commager wrote that "Even when definitions of terrorism allow for state terrorism, state actions in this area tend to be seen through the prism of war or national self-defense, not terror.”^[9] While states may accuse other states of state-sponsored terrorism when they support insurgencies, individuals who accuse their governments of terrorism are seen as radicals, because actions by legitimate governments are not generally seen as illegitimate. Academic writing tends to follow the definitions accepted by states.^[10] Most states use the term "terrorism" for non state actors only.^[11]

The Encyclopædia Britannica Online defines terrorism generally as "the systematic use of violence to create a general climate of fear in a population and thereby to bring about a particular political objective", and states that "terrorism is not legally defined in all jurisdictions." The encyclopedia adds that "[e]stablishment terrorism, often called state or state-sponsored terrorism, is employed by governments -- or more often by factions within governments -- against that government's citizens, against factions within the government, or against foreign governments or groups."^[2]

While the most common modern usage of the word terrorism refers to civilian-victimizing political violence by insurgents or conspirators,^[12] several scholars make a broader interpretation of the nature of terrorism that encompasses the concepts of state terrorism and state-sponsored terrorism.^[13] Michael Stohl argues, "The use of terror tactics is common in international relations and the state has been and remains a more likely employer of terrorism within the international system than insurgents.^[14] Stohl clarifies, however, that "[n]ot all acts of state violence are terrorism. It is important to understand that in terrorism the violence threatened or perpetrated, has purposes broader than simple physical harm to a victim. The audience of the act or threat of violence is more important than the immediate victim."^[15]

Scholar Gus Martin describes state terrorism as terrorism "committed by governments and quasi-governmental agencies and personnel against perceived threats", which can be directed against both domestic and foreign targets.^[4] Noam Chomsky defines state terrorism as "terrorism practised by states (or governments) and their agents and allies".^[16] Jeffrey A. Sluka has described Noam Chomsky and Edward S. Herman as pioneers in academic studies about state terrorism.^[17]

Michael Stohl and George A. Lopez have designated three categories of state terrorism, based on the openness/secrecy with which the alleged terrorist acts are performed, and whether states directly perform the acts, support them, or acquiesce to them.^[18]

History[link]

Aristotle wrote critically of terror employed by tyrants against their subjects.^[19] The earliest use of the word terrorism identified by the Oxford English Dictionary is a 1795 reference to tyrannical state behavior, the "reign of terrorism" in France.^[20] In that same year, Edmund Burke famously decried the "thousands of those hell-hounds called terrorists" who he believed threatened Europe.^[21] During the Reign of Terror, the Jacobin government and other factions of the French Revolution used the apparatus of the state to execute and intimidate political opponents, and the Oxford English Dictionary includes as one definition of terrorism "Government by intimidation carried out by the party in power in France between 1789-1794".^[22] The original general meaning of terrorism was of terrorism by the state, as reflected in the 1798 supplement of the Dictionnaire of the Académie française, which described terrorism as systeme, regime de la terreur.^[21] Dr Myra Williamson wrote: "The meaning of “terrorism” has undergone a transformation. During the reign of terror a regime or system of terrorism was used as an instrument of governance, wielded by a recently established revolutionary state against the enemies of the people. Now the term “terrorism" is commonly used to describe terrorist acts committed by non-state or subnational entities against a state. (italics in original)^[8]

Later exemplars of state terrorism were the police state measures employed by the Soviet Union beginning in the 1920s, and by Germany's Nazi regime in the 1930s and 1940s.^[23] According to Igor Primoratz, "Both [the Nazis and Soviets] sought to impose total political control on society. Such a radical aim could only be pursued by a similarly radical method: by terrorism directed by an extremely powerful political police at an atomized and defenseless population. Its success was due largely to its arbitrary character — to the unpredictability of its choice of victims. In both countries, the regime first suppressed all opposition; when it no longer had any opposition to speak of, political police took to persecuting “potential” and “objective opponents”. In the Soviet Union, it was eventually unleashed on victims chosen at random." ^[24] The bombing of Guernica has been called an act of terrorism,^[25] as well as the 2006 Lebanon War ^[26], and other examples of state terrorism may include the World War II bombings of London, Dresden and Hiroshima.^{[27][verification needed]}

The peace-time Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior, a yacht owned by Greenpeace, occurred in downtown Auckland, New Zealand on July 10, 1985. The bomb detonation killed Fernando Pereira, a Portuguese photographer. The organisation who committed the terrorist attack, the DGSE, is a branch of France's intelligence services. Ironically, France and New Zealand had been allies since French missionaries settled in Akaroa, in 1835. The agents responsible were sentence to fifteen years in prison, but secretly release early to France as part of a deal between the countries' governments.

Arguments that terrorism is not committed by states[link]

Discussions of terrorism in social sciences and philosophy tend to apply to violent non-state actors,^[28] and some scholars dispute whether the concept of terrorism is properly applied to states.

The Chairman of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee has stated that the twelve previous international conventions on terrorism had never referred to state terrorism, which was not an international legal concept, and that when states abuse their powers they should be judged against international conventions dealing with war crimes, international human rights and international humanitarian law, rather than against international anti-terrorism statutes.^[29] In a similar vein, Kofi Annan, at the time United Nations Secretary-General, stated that it is "time to set aside debates on so-called 'state terrorism'. The use of force by states is already regulated under international law"^[30] Annan added, "...regardless of the differences between governments on the question of definition of terrorism, what is clear and what we can all agree on is any deliberate attack on innocent civilians, regardless of one's cause, is unacceptable and fits into the definition of terrorism."^[31]

Dr. Bruce Hoffman has argued that failing to differentiate between state and non-state violence ignores the fact that there is a “fundamental qualitative difference between the two types of violence.” Hoffman argues that even in war there are rules and accepted norms of behavior that prohibit certain types of weapons and tactics and outlaw attacks on specific categories of targets. For instance, rules codified in the Geneva and Hague conventions on warfare prohibit taking civilians as hostages, outlaw reprisals against either civilians or POW’s, recognize neutral territory, etc. Hoffman states that “even the most cursory review of terrorist tactics and targets over the past quarter century reveals that terrorists have violated all these rules.” Hoffman also states that when states transgress these rules of war “the term “war crime” is used to describe such acts.”^[32]

Walter Laqueur has stated that those who argue that state terrorism should be included in studies of terrorism ignore the fact that “The very existence of a state is based on its monopoly of power. If it were different, states would not have the right, nor be in a position, to maintain that minimum of order on which all civilized life rests.”^[33] Calling the concept a “red herring” he stated: “This argument has been used by the terrorists themselves, arguing that there is no difference between their activities and those by governments and states. It has also been employed by some sympathizers, and rests on the deliberate obfuscation between all kinds of violence...”^[34]

Moral analysis[link]

Philosopher Igor Primoratz provides four reasons why he believes that state terrorism is typically morally worse than non-state terrorism. First, because of the nature of the modern state and "the amount and variety of resources" available even for small states, the state mode of terrorism claims vastly more victims than does terrorism by non-state actors. Secondly, because "state terrorism is bound to be compounded by secrecy, deception and hypocrisy", terrorist states typically act with clandestine brutality while publicly professing adherence to "values and principles which rule it out." Thirdly, because unlike non-state actors, states are signatories in international laws and conventions prohibiting terrorism, so when a state commits acts of terrorism it is "in breach of its own solemn international commitments." Finally, while there may be circumstances where non-state actors are in such an oppressed situation that there may be no alternative but terrorism, Primoratz argues that "it seems virtually impossible that a state should find itself in such circumstances where it has no alternative to resorting to terrorism." ^[35]

See also[link]

Terrorism portal

• Political repression
• State-sponsored terrorism
• United States and state terrorism
• Terrorism and the Soviet Union
• War crimes

References[link]

Notes[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Barsamian, David (2001). "The United States is a Leading Terrorist State". Monthly Review. http://www.monthlyreview.org/1101chomsky.htm. 
• Kisangani, E. & Nafziger, E. Wayne (2007). "The Political Economy Of State Terror". Defence and Peace Economics 18 (5): 405–414. DOI:10.1080/10242690701455433. http://www.informaworld.com/index/781318312.pdf. 
• Martin, Gus (2006). Understanding terrorism: challenges, perspectives, and issues. SAGE. ISBN 1-4129-2722-6. http://books.google.com/books?id=XdXpn6NH2GcC. 
• Primoratz, Igor (2004). "State Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism". In Primoratz, Igor. Terrorism: The Philosophical Issues. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-4039-1817-8. http://books.google.com/books?id=r3NqQgAACAAJ. 
• Selden, Mark & So, Alvin Y., ed. (2004). War and state terrorism: the United States, Japan, and the Asia-Pacific in the long twentieth century. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-7425-2391-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=D0icvm2EQLIC. 
• Sluka, Jeffrey A., ed. (2000). Death Squad: The Anthropology of State Terror. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0-8122-1711-X. http://books.google.com/books?id=0FyqLmq8QA4C. 
• Stohl, Michael & Lopez, George A. (1988). Terrible beyond Endurance?: The Foreign Policy of State Terrorism. Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-25297-6. http://books.google.com/books?id=dFzlAAAAIAAJ. 

Further reading[link]

• Chomsky, Noam & Herman, Edward S. (1979). The Washington Connection and Third World Fascism: The Political Economy of Human Rights: Vol. 1. South End Press. ISBN 0-89608-090-0. 
• Chomsky, Noam (1988). The Culture of Terrorism. South End Press. ISBN 0-89608-334-9. http://books.google.com/books?id=hoLcmxTTYWcC. 
• Curtis, Mark (2004). Unpeople: Britain's Secret Human Rights Abuses. Vintage. ISBN 0-09-946972-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=5PwUAQAAIAAJ. 
• George, Alexander (1991). Western State Terrorism. Polity Press. ISBN 0-7456-0931-7. http://books.google.com/books?id=5ENiQgAACAAJ. 
• Glover, Jonathan (1991). "State terrorism". In Frey, Raymond Gillespie. Violence, terrorism, and Justice. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-40950-6. http://books.google.com/books?id=oB77mNaj1aYC. 
• Hayner, Priscilla B. (2000). Unspeakable truths: confronting state terror and atrocities. Psychology Press. ISBN 978-0-415-92477-1. http://books.google.com/books?id=BdRUbBu-lAAC. 
• Herbst, Philip (2003). Talking terrorism: a dictionary of the loaded language of political violence. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-32486-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=WL-IYCCe58EC. 
• Kushner, Harvey W., ed. (2003). "State terrorism". Encyclopedia of Terrorism. SAGE. ISBN 978-0-7619-2408-1. http://books.google.com/books?id=ZOfkAoDb_2IC. 
• Lerner, Brenda Wilmoth & K. Lee Lerner, ed. (2006). Terrorism : essential primary sources.. Thomson Gale. ISBN 978-1-4144-0621-3. 
• Oliverio, Annamarie (1998). The state of terror. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-3708-7. http://books.google.com/books?id=e6CWPXGTjtMC. 
• Tarpley, Webster G.. 9/11 Synthetic Terror, Made in USA. Progressive Press. ISBN 0-930852-31-1. 

External links[link]

Prevention of terrorism

• The National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism
• Recognizing State Terror
• State Terrorism and Counterterrorism

Shahram Amiri (Persian: شهرام امیری‎) is an Iranian nuclear scientist who disappeared from Iran for a little over a year under disputed circumstances. In the spring of 2009, he disappeared while apparently^[1] on a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. About a year later two videos appeared, each purporting to be declarations by Amiri, but with contradictory stories. One showed him (or the person claiming to be him), stating that he had been kidnapped and tortured by Saudis and Americans; the other that he was in America of his own free will.

In July 2010, Shahram Amiri reappeared in Washington D.C. at the Iran interests section of the Embassy of Pakistan, seeking help to return to Tehran.^[2] Shortly thereafter he spoke at a press conference in Tehran telling journalists he had been kidnapped, tortured and bribed to cooperate with the CIA, but had refused.^[3] He is now reportedly on trial in Iran for treason.^[3]

In 2009, the Iranian government accused the US government of kidnapping him,^[4] while Iranian government media later reported that he was working for Iranian intelligence.^[5] After his return to Iran, American sources confirmed he arrived in, or was taken to, the United States with the help of the CIA, but insisted he had not been taken or kept against his will.^[6][7] ABC News and Haaretz newspaper suggested Amiri "wanted to seek asylum abroad."^[8][9] According to a 2011 report by NPR news, he "was believed to be an agent-in-place for the CIA," who decided "he wanted out of Iran", but once in the US "got cold feet" and "made his way back to Iran".^[3]

Life and career[link]

This section requires expansion.

The Guardian reported that "he was an expert on radioactive isotopes for medical uses at Malek-Ashtar University of Technology (MUT), in Tehran,"^[10] and reports in Iran said he "was also an employee of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation".^[11] Press TV reported that he worked at Malek Ashtar University, but the Iranian government would not confirm that he was a nuclear scientist.^[11]

A later report by ABC News described him as a "researcher at Malek Ashtar University of Defense Technology," which according to the European Union Council, was “linked” to Iran’s Ministry of Defense and “set up a missiles training course in 2003.” The university's rector is a lieutenant general in the Iranian military who was "named in the UN Security Council's first round of sanctions on Iran in 2006 as one of seven `persons involved in the nuclear program`.”^{[1][1][2][12]}

Disappearance[link]

Amiri disappeared during an apparent umrah^[1] pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia in either May or June 2009. In October 2009, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki suggested the United States may have been involved in his disappearance.^[13] On 7 October 2009, Iran's Press TV reported that Mottaki stated "we have evidence of a U.S. role in disappearance of the Iranian national ... in Saudi Arabia. ... There is evidence to suggest the United States was involved" in Amiri's disappearance.^[14] "We hold Saudi Arabia responsible and consider the US to be involved in his arrest."^[4] In response, a United States Department of State spokesperson said only that "the case is not familiar to us".^[11]

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hasan Qashqavi stated a day or two earlier that "Amiri's fate is Saudi Arabia's responsibility."^[14] Saudi Arabia "deplored" Tehran's charge that he was kidnapped while on pilgrimage.^[1] On the other hand, in December 2009, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Ali Akbar Salehi, denied that Amiri had any links with the AEOI or was ever employed by it.^[12]

Amiri's disappearance is thought by some to be connected to the revelation of a second uranium enrichment facility near the city of Qom, as his disappearance came three months before the facility was revealed in the news, raising the possibility that Amiri "may have given the West information on it or other parts of the nuclear program."^[14]

The New York Times said "sources" in Washington confirmed he was an American spy in Iran for several years, even aiding the "National Intelligence" report in 2007. He then traveled to Saudi Arabia where the CIA smuggled him out of the country. The Obama administration said that his decision to return to Iran was an embarrassment and it was concerned that it may undermine efforts to convince other Iranian scientists to work against the country. One official said "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." The Iranian Foreign Ministry stated "We first have to see what has happened in these two years and then we will determine if he’s a hero or not. Iran must determine if his claims about being kidnapped were correct or not."^[6] The Associated Press also reported American officials saying he has been paid $5 million for "significant original information."^[15]

According to the Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat, Mottaki made a formal complaint to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon about "the disappearances of Amiri and three other Iranians in recent years, some of whom they feared may have provided nuclear information to the West."^[14] One of these was Ali Reza Asgari, a former deputy defense minister and Revolutionary Guards general who vanished in Turkey in 2007," and may have defected to the US according to "subsequent press reports."^[10] According to The Sunday Telegraph, both Asgari and Amiri were part of a CIA defection program against Iran called "the Brain Drain", which began in 2005.^[16]

On 30 March 2010, ABC News reported that Amiri was initially approached via an intermediary, agreeing to defect in a "long-planned CIA operation", and was then living in the United States.^[9]

On 13 July 2010, Amiri went to the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington, D.C. and asked to return to Iran. Senior US officials claimed that Iranian government authorities threatened to hurt Amiri's family in Iran if he did not return to Iran, so he returned home. Amiri claimed he was drugged and kidnapped by American agents in Saudi Arabia, tortured and held for years against his will.^[17]

June 2010 videos[link]

On 7 June 2010, IRIB aired a poor quality^[18] webcam video apparently from Tucson, Arizona and recorded on 5 April 2010, in which a man alleged to be Shahram Amiri said that he had been kidnapped by force in Saudi Arabia through a combined effort of the American and Saudi intelligence services. He further said that after being carried to the U.S., he had been tortured^[19] and pressured to publicly state that he had willfully defected and that Iran had a secret nuclear weapon program. He called on international organizations and human rights groups to pressure U.S. for his release and expressed his wish to return to Iran.^{[citation needed]}

A second video was released hours later on YouTube,^[20] in which a person who appears to be Amiri^[21] without stating whether he was initially abducted, said that "I am free here and I assure everyone that I am safe", and denied taking action against Iran. He stated that he was safe and wished to continue his education in the U.S., and that "I am not involved in weapons research and have no experience and knowledge in this field." A correspondent from the BBC speculated that he may have been reading from a script.^[18] BBC has published English-language transcripts of the two videos.^[20]

"Within days, the CIA learned that Amiri had given the Iranians a video and moved quickly to produce a version of its own. The second video shows Amiri well-dressed and manicured with a globe – turned to North America – and chess set behind him as he appears to read from a teleprompter. He says, in Persian, that he is happily living in the U.S. and going to school. He also denied having worked in the Iranian nuclear program and made a plea to his wife and son. 'I want them to know that I never abandoned then, and that I will always love them.' According to one U.S. official, the CIA intended to produce the video and launch it on the internet before the Iranians had a chance to air their version. Instead, the video languished at CIA headquarters for weeks, according to a senior intelligence official. Then, earlier this month, Iranian state television aired the Amiri video. Within a day, the CIA posted their Amiri video on YouTube, with a user identification of "shahramamiri2010".^[22]

Later in June, IRIB interviewed Amiri's wife,^[23][24] in which she expressed serious doubt that Amiri had gone to the U.S. of his own volition. The interview also made clear that despite more than one year of disappearance, Amiri had not contacted his wife and their seven-year-old son. She further called on human rights organizations to pressure the U.S. for Amiri's release.

On Tuesday, 29 June 2010, the BBC reported that Iranian state TV had shown a video of a "man who says he is an Iranian nuclear scientist" and "claims to have escaped after being abducted by US agents." In the video, the man states "I, Shahram Amiri, am a national of the Islamic Republic of Iran and a few minutes ago I succeeded in escaping US security agents in Virginia. Presently, I am producing this video in a safe place. I could be re-arrested at any time." BBC quotes him as saying he is not free, is not permitted to contact his family, that human rights organizations should pressure the U.S. for his release, and asserting that "The second video which was published on YouTube by the US government, where I have said that I am free and want to continue my education here, is not true and is a complete fabrication. If something happens and I do not return home alive, the US government will be responsible." A US official told the AFP news agency the allegations were "ludicrous", although its state department has refused to say whether Amiri is in the US.^[25]

Reuters reported on 29 June that earlier that month, Iran, which has no direct diplomatic relations with the United States, summoned the Swiss ambassador in Tehran and handed over documents which Tehran said showed Amiri had been kidnapped by the U.S.^[26] On 4 July, the BBC reported on this development, adding that the nature of the documents had not been disclosed.^[27]

Return to Iran[link]

On 13 July 2010, Amiri was unexpectedly dropped off at the Iranian interests section of the Pakistani Embassy seeking assistance returning to Iran. On 14 July, the BBC reported that Amiri was "heading home" to Iran after asking to be repatriated.^[28] He returned to Iran via Turkey, as the United States has no direct flights to Iran. After learning of the developments in the case, United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, "Mr Amiri has been in the United States of his own free will and he is free to go." ^[29]

According to the Wall Street Journal, an unnamed Iranian who is familiar with Amiri's case said that Iranian authorities had threatened to hurt Amiri's family if he did not return to Iran. "His family has been under tremendous pressure, they even threatened to kill his son. He had no choice but to play the script the regime has given him and return to Iran." A spokesman at Iran's United Nations' mission in New York did not answer requests for comment. The Wall Street Journal claims that his return was under threat of retaliation to his family.^[30]

On 15 July 2010, he returned to Iran and was welcomed by Iranian officials, including Foreign Affairs Ministry officials and his family. At a special press conference in Tehran, he said that he had been psychologically mistreated by the US intelligence Agency (CIA) after his kidnapping. "They offered me $50 million to cooperate with them and tell the media that I am a very important person in Iran's nuclear programme and have escaped from Iran and politically that I'm a refugee to the US. They wanted me to show a laptop on the TV and say we have obtained very important information on Iran's nuclear weapon programme. But I promised myself not to tell [them] anything against my country."^[31]

After his return to Iran, the Fars News Agency claimed that he was secretly working for Iranian intelligence while in the United States. It was reported that he gathered information regarding CIA plans to gather intelligence on the Iranian Nuclear capabilities. U.S. officials disputed this claim, saying that he never had access to classified information.^[5]

Yusuf bin Alawai bin Abdullah, an Omani official involved in the September 2010 release on bail of Sarah Shourd, stated that Iran had been prepared to discuss an exchange of Shourd for Amiri but that "at the White House 'not everyone was on board.'" Bin Alawai avoided saying that Shourd's release was part of an exchange, but allowed "it may have helped" that Amiri had returned to Iran.^[32]

According to NPR news, Amiri was jailed "months" after his arrival in Iran and as of May 2011 is "on trial for treason."^[3]

In popular culture[link]

An Iranian film studio said it would produce a telefilm about the Shahram Amiri saga.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Channel on YouTube