An interesting story is developing surrounding our possible source for the recently revealed nuclear facility in Qom:
Iran accused the United States on Wednesday of involvement in the disappearance of one of its nuclear scientists during a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, raising a new mystery at a time when the West is trying to determine the extent of Iran’s nuclear program.
Shahram Amiri vanished during a pilgrimage to the kingdom more than four months ago and so far Saudi Arabia has not responded to requests for information on his whereabouts, Iranian officials say. But in complaints about his disappearance, Iranian officials have avoided even mentioning that Amiri was involved in nuclear research — a sign of the sensitivities surrounding the case.
AP Photo/GeoEye Sateliite Image, IHS Jane's Analysis
Also in the intelligence arena, the nail polish remover bomber, Najibullah Zazi, was picked up as a potential threat not by the FBI, but by the CIA:
The fact that intelligence officials learned of Zazi through a CIA source sheds more light on the government’s claim that the charges against him are part of a broader, international case and begins to explain why the investigation triggered such a large offensive from the nation’s intelligence community.
It also shows the case stems from the CIA’s counterterrorism efforts to track al Qaeda rather than an investigation initiated in this country by someone’s suspicious actions, like most other domestic terrorism cases handled by the FBI.
