On July 13, 2010 (June 2, 2010 in the lunar calendar), Iranian media claimed that the Iranian expert kidnapped by US agents had been granted asylum. It was reported on July 13, 2010 that Iranian nuclear physicist Shahram Amiri, who was kidnapped by American agents, had been granted asylum in an Iranian institution in Washington. The website of Iran's state-run television said: "Shahram-Amiri, the kidnapped Iranian expert, was granted asylum from Iran's Washington agency several hours ago." There are also reports that Amiri asked to return to Tehran as soon as possible. Iranian nuclear physicist Shahram Amiri is a researcher at Malek Ashtar University in Tehran, the capital of Iran, and a member of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. He disappeared in Saudi Arabia in June 2009. Western media claimed that he "defected" from Iran and then joined the CIA, while Iran insisted that he was kidnapped by US intelligence agencies. Comments: The U.S. special operations were pervasive, and Iran finally welcomed this scientist back.