US authorities have requested an interview with Mr Aidan Leahy, the Irish citizen who was kidnapped by Iranian bandits.
Mr Leahy, who spent nearly a month in captivity along with two Germans, was freed by his captors on Sunday.
He arrived in the Iranian capital, Tehran, yesterday morning, where he was met by the Irish Ambassador, Mr Thomas Bolster.
He is currently being looked after by the staff of the Irish Embassy.
The London-based mechanical engineer is expected to return to England on New Year's Eve and will travel on to Ireland towards the end of the week.
It is believed US intelligence officers want to speak to Mr Leahy, following reports that the bandits had links to the al-Qaeda terrorist organisation.
Mr Leahy, who was on a cycling trip from London to India, was kidnapped with two Germans, Mr David Storm and Mr Oliver Brueck, on December 2nd in the country's Baluchistan Va Sistan province, close to Iran's recent earthquake disaster in Bam.
The kidnappers had been demanding a €5 million ransom, which Iranian authorities say was not paid. The area, in the south-east of the country, is a notorious transit route for drug-traffickers from Afghanistan.
Mr Leahy spoke with family members on a number of occasions throughout the day yesterday.
He told of how he believed he was going to be shot instead of being released, according to his first cousin, Mr Ronan Casey, a journalist with the Westmeath Examiner in Mullingar.
"He wasn't told he was going to be released and he thought he was being brought out to be shot. He was bundled into the boot of a car along with one of the Germans, and the other German into another car.
"They were brought out into the middle of nowhere, taken out of the boot, and the kidnappers drove off," Mr Casey said.
They were picked up soon afterwards by Iranian authorities.
According to Mr Casey, his cousin was treated well enough, but had been traumatised by his ordeal.
"Obviously the circumstances in which the kidnapping ended were even more traumatic," he said.
Mr Leahy was described by his cousin as an "intrepid explorer". A mechanical engineer who has worked for the Minardi Formula One team, he has previously undertaken a cycling expedition from London to Hong Kong.
He had been planning a cycling trip from Alaska to the southern-most tip of South America, but had instead decided to travel through the Middle East as far as India.
Mr Leahy was born into an Irish family in London and holds an Irish passport. His mother, who died some years ago, is from outside Mullingar.
According to Mr Casey, The Department of Foreign Affairs was in daily contact with the family during the last four weeks.
Mr David Andrews, chairman of the Irish Red Cross, was also closely involved in working for the release of Mr Leahy.