Former senior member of Iranian delegation on nuclear talks, an asylee in the U.S.
Iranian sources report that Hossein Mousavian, the former high ranking member and spokesperson of the Iranian delegation on nuclear talks, and a senior diplomat for many years - Iranian ambassador to Germany for eight years - has sought asylum in the United States. Mousavian was a close ally to former President Hashemi Rafsanjani and was indicted in 2007 on espionage charges but later cleared. Reportedly, yielding to pressures by Ahmadinejad and the Intelligence Agency, however, the Iranian Judiciary in 2009 re-opened the indictment and this time convicted Mousavian in absentia (the illegal double jeopardy process in the U.S.).
Mousavin has valuable classified information about Iran's nuclear programs and other internal government affairs. It is yet unknown if he has shared any of that with officials at the U.S. government.
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