Marc Burleigh: Iran TV shows CIA Spy speaking of alleged mission!o

An alleged CIA agent being held in Tehran is a citizen of Iranian origin, state television said Sunday in a report showing the young man confessing to his "mission" to infiltrate the intelligence ministry: The channel named him as Amir Mirzai Hekmati, and said he was an American of Iranian descent, born in the US state of Arizona. It said he joined the US Army in 2001, and had a decade of intelligence training. The report said Hekmati was sent to the US-run Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, where he was given access to classified US intelligence before flying to Tehran to try to entice Iranians with it, and establish his value to them. "It was their plan to first leak some useful information, and let the intelligence ministry think that this is useful material, the clean-shaven man in his 20's said. In the broadcast he spoke fluent Farsi and English with a slight American accent. He delivered his statements in a normal tone, with little emotion, and did not appear to be reading from a script. The channel said that "Iranian networks monitoring activities in the Bagram base" discovered Hekmati's presence and blew the operation. He also showed an identity card, declaring Helmati to be an "Army Contractor" with access to the shops and leisure facilities at the Bagram base.