Arash Aramesh

Since the evening of July 12, when Shahram Amiri, an Iranian nuclear scientists who was reportedly in the United States for almost a year, showed up at the doorsteps of the Interest Section of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Washington, D.C., state-run media in Iran have treated the story with caution and, at times, even with silence.

IRIB, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Broadcasting, has aired Amiri’s interview conducted a few hours after he arrived at the embassy. In these interviews, Amiri claims that he was abducted in Medina by Saudi Arabia and U.S. agents and then kept in the United States against his will. According to Amiri, U.S. agents wanted Amiri to do an interview with a major American network and “spread lies” about Iran’s nuclear program.

Fars news, a semi-official news agency close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, ran a couple of stories about Amiri, but failed to delve into the details of Amiri’s disappearance. What was surprising was the lack of strong anti-American rhetoric from Fars, an agency known for its hardliner views about the United States.

Surprisingly, most other media outlets in Iran chose to remain silent on the issue. Kayhan, a hardliner newspaper with ties to the office of the Supreme Leader, has not published a single news report or opinion piece on this story. And that is surprising because Kayhan has a reputation for exploiting such stories.

It is unclear why the Iranian government has decided not to exploit the story. Some say that Iran and the US government worked out a deal so Amiri could be exchanged for the three American hikers held by Iran. Some analysts have argued that Iran is not sure whether Amiri is a hero or a traitor. These analysts claim that Tehran is very worried that Amiri defected on his own and then had a change of heart and decided to return to Iran.

Whatever the reasons might be, the Iranian government tried to make the best of the situation by portraying its security services as effective and competent. Like the case of Abdolmalek Rigi, the leader of a terrorist organization captured by Iranian agents and then executed, the Islamic Republic has claimed that its security services are so strong and its agents so competent that they could carry out operations anywhere, even in the United States, and bring home a scientist in “captivity.”

The Iranian government’s claims may sound farfetched and unbelievable, but they certainly make many Iranians fear the mighty wrath of Iran’s powerful security and spy agencies. After all, the Islamic Republic will feel much safer at home if the local opposition is terrified of the abilities of its coercive apparatus.