JERUSALEM (JTA) — An Iranian nuclear scientist has requested political asylum in Israel, an Israeli lawmaker said.
Ayoub Kara, a Druze minister of the Likud Party, said Saturday that an Iranian academic with ties to Iran’s nuclear program passed the request for asylum via an Israeli woman of Iranian descent, according to reports.
The scientist is waiting for Israel’s decision from a "friendly" third country, according to Kara, who did not name the scientist or the country in which he is hiding.
The Washington Post reported Sunday that an increasing number of Iranian nuclear scientists are defecting or leaking information about Iran’s nuclear program to Western nations.
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