 Senior American officials claimed that Iranian government authorities threatened to hurt Amiri's family in Iran if he did not return to Iran, so he returned home.Amiri claimed he was drugged and kidnapped by American agents in Saudi Arabia, tortured and held for years against his will.On 7 June 2010, IRIB aired a poor quality webcam video apparently from Tucson and recorded on 5 April 2010, in which a man alleged to be Shahram Amiri said that he had been kidnapped by force in Saudi Arabia through a combined effort of the American and Saudi intelligence services.