Report: Missing Iranian nuclear scientist helping CIA

Washington: ABC News has reported that an Iranian nuclear scientist who had been reported missing since last summer has defected to the US and is assisting the CIA in its efforts to undermine Iran's nuclear program.

The scientist, Shahram Amiri, has been resettled in the US, according to the report.

A spokesman said the CIA had no comment on the report.

President Barack Obama said Tuesday he hopes international sanctions against Iran for pursuing its nuclear ambitions will be in place this spring.

Iran maintains that its nuclear research is for peaceful purposes and not to develop weapons.

Amiri, who worked at Tehran's Malek Ashtar University, an institution closely connected to Iran's Revolutionary Guard, disappeared last June while in Saudi Arabia on a pilgrimage.