Iran’s nuclear weapons scientist ‘assassinated’ near Tehran

Head of Iran’s nuclear program Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, 59, was assassinated in Damavand, east of Tehran, local Iranian news reported on Friday.

Iran later confirmed the reports. “The nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was assassinated today by terrorists,” the Iranian Defense Ministry wrote in a statement, while not blaming any specific entity for the incident.

Israel: U/D Photos, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh assassinated this evening near Tehran was top scientist at Iran’s secret military nuclear program and wanted by Mossad for many years pic.twitter.com/GqCwJvYXGy

— Yiddish News (@YiddishNews) November 27, 2020

However, Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif later stated on Twitter that “serious indication” pointed to Israeli involvement and urged the international community to condemn the attack.

Pictures from the scene show two vehicles, one blown up and one shot at from the front. Several local reports in Iran indicated that a suicide bomber was involved in the attack, but that has not yet been confirmed.

The Prime Minister’s Office and the Pentagon have yet to comment on the reports.

A military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei accused Israel for trying to provoke “a full-blown” war by killing Fakhrizadeh.

“In the last days of the political life of their … ally (US President Donald Trump), the Zionists (Israel) seek to intensify pressure on Iran and create a full-blown war,” commander Hossein Dehghan tweeted.

“We will strike as thunder at the killers of this oppressed martyr and will make them regret their action,” Dehghan added.