Iran scientist released after a year in US custody
Los Angeles International Airport where Mojtaba Attarodi, 55, was detained on suspicions that he was buying high-tech dual-use equipment for Iran’s nuclear program
The Oman government announced Friday that it had secured the release of an Iranian scientist detained in the US for over a year.
US authorities detained Mojtaba Attarodi, 55, on suspicions that he was buying high-tech dual-use equipment for Iran's nuclear program.
Oman negotiated his release on what they called "humanitarian grounds."
Attarodi is a microchip specialist and professor of electrical engineering at Sharif University of Technology in Tehran.
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He was arrested by US authorities after landing in Los Angeles on December 7, 2011.
Oman said that Attarodi would be returned back to Iran Saturday and would be given medical attention until then.
The Gulf country has acted as a liaison between Iran and the United States in the past.
Americans hikers that were detained in Iran as spies passed through Oman on their way home after their negotiated release.
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