Foreign Policy
Sun Dec 08, 2019 2:45
Released Professor: US No. 1 Enemy of Iranian People
TEHRAN (FNA)- Prominent stem cell Professor Masoud Soleimani, who was imprisoned by the US government for 14 months, said that Washington is the number one enemy of the Iranian people, recounting that his American jailers had told him they did not care if his patients died while he was incarcerated.

Upon arrival at Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport, Iranian stem cell scientist Dr. Masoud Soleimani said that his jail wardens had told other prisoners that he was a terrorist with a mission to carry out bombings in the United States. 

Recounting his ordeal at the hands of American jailers, Soleimani described the United States as "the number one enemy" of Iran and the Iranians.

Soleimani — who works in stem cell research, hematology and regenerative medicine — was on a sabbatical when he was arrested by US authorities upon arrival in Chicago a year ago and transferred to a prison in Atlanta, Georgia. 

"US authorities in the jail had told prisoners that I was a terrorist who wanted to carry out bombings in America," he told reporters upon arrival at Tehran's Mehrabad airport on Saturday night.  

"They had made such false statements so that other prisoners would not come close to me and keep away from me. 

"After a while, the inmates would tell me, 'you do not look like a terrorist and a bomber, what these guys are saying and I would tell them I don't know what they are saying'," he said. 

"The Americans were so mean and low that when I told them that many patients were waiting for me to have their things done, they said, 'let them die, it doesn't matter'," he said on Saturday.

"This shows their main problem is with the Iranian people. They are upset and angry about the scientific progress and the right path that Iran has taken, and we have a duty to continue this path so that the country can grow and prosper."

Soleimani suffered from several health problems which aggravated during his incarceration.

According to American political analyst Scott Bennett, the Trump administration held the Iranian stem cell scientist hostage to gain leverage over the Islamic Republic through "diplomatic extortion."

Professor Soleimani arrived at Tehran Mehrabad airport on Saturday evening after he was released by the US in a prisoner swap. He was welcomed by his family members and Iranian officials upon his arrival. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accompanied the released scientist from Zurich where the swap took place.

Soleimani had travelled to the US on October, 21, 2018 with a visa issued upon an invitation by the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota to lead a research program on the treatment of stroke patients. 



Soleimani’s family condemned the US government's hostile act.

















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