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.

[3] 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.

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'.

[20] 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.

[16] Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hasan Qashqavi stated a day or two earlier that "Amiri's fate is Saudi Arabia's responsibility.

"[21] 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.

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.

"[24] 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.

"[21] 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".

[15] 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.

[25] 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.

[26] On 13 July 2010, after a year in America, Amiri changed his mind and decided to go back to Iran having received several letters from his 7-year-old son Amir Hussein pleading him to return home and visit the family.

[28] Having decided to return to Iran, Amiri claimed he was drugged and kidnapped by American agents in Saudi Arabia, tortured and held for years against his will.

[citation needed] A second video was released hours later on YouTube,[33] in which a person who appears to be Amiri[34] 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.

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.

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.

[38] 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.[39] On 4 July, the BBC reported on this development, adding that the nature of the documents had not been disclosed.

[40] On 13 July 2010, Amiri was unexpectedly dropped off at the Iranian interests section of the Pakistani Embassy seeking assistance returning to Iran.

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.

[11] In August 2016 Wikileaks released several cables of the Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton which implied that Amiri has knowingly defected to the US.

[51] On 2 August 2016, there was a last visit, where Shahram Amiri himself informed his parents of his forthcoming death; the next day, his body was returned to the family.