Top Iraqi Missile Scientist Fled to Iran, U.S. Officials Say

U.S. officers involved in the search for Iraq weapons of mass destruction have said that Iraqi missile scientist Modher Sadeq-Saba al-Tamimi, believed to be the head of prewar Iraq’s long-range missile program, has fled to Iran, the Associated Press reported today (see related GSN story, today).

U.N. weapons inspectors spoke with al-Tamimi, who specialized in missile engines, a week before Operation Iraqi Freedom began, according to AP. It is believed that the scientist crossed into Iran at least two months after U.S. troops captured Baghdad, said two U.S. WMD investigators.

“Dr. Modher was declared by Iraq to have been one of the principal figures in their missile programs,” U.N. spokesman Ewen Buchanan said (Dafna Linzer, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Nov. 17).

Tehran today, however, denied that the Iraqi scientist had traveled to Iran

“This report is completely baseless,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said (Ali Akbar Dareini, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Nov. 17).

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