Iran says won't fall in trap of holding talks with US, after killing of nuclear scientist

Iran has vowed it won't "fall into the trap" of holding any future talks with the incoming Joe Biden-led US government after the assassination of its top nuclear scientist. In a statement posted on the Iranian government's website, spokesman Ali Rabiei said, the Islamic Republic should not fall into the trap of linking the assassination to past nuclear negotiations.

"Iran's scientific and defense policies won't change because of the assassination of one scientist or general," he said. 

Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a veteran physicist who was at the heart of Iran's nuclear research and defense activities, was killed in a bombing and shooting ambush outside Tehran on Friday. Iran has blamed Israel for the murder of its top scientist and vowed to take revenge against the perpetrators. Israel had earlier accused Fakhrizadeh of masterminding a secret nuclear bomb project. It has not commented on Iran's allegation yet.

In a letter to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the UNSC, Iran claimed there are “serious indications of Israeli responsibility” and Iran would be looking to defend itself. While taking to Twitter, Foreign Minister Javed Zarif called on the international community and asked them to condemn the act and end the “state terror”. 

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Complications in the nuclear deal

Both Israel and US President Donald Trump oppose President-elect Joe Biden's intention to rejoin the Obama-era nuclear accord if Tehran vows full compliance. In 2018, Trump had pulled the US out of the deal and imposed crippling sanctions on Iran. Killing Fakhrizadeh, who is to be buried in Tehran on Monday, could add complications in the return of the accord.

"This assassination will not remain unanswered, but not at a time that they want or the way and place they expect. Iran sets the time and the place," said Rabiei, referring to Israel and the US

Hardliners in Iran are miffed with President Hassan Rouhani for trying to keep the 2015 deal alive while attacks continue on the country. Fakhrizadeh's murder adds to a year of crisis and instability, that started with Trump ordering the killing of a top Iranian general in a January 3 drone strike in Baghdad. Iran retaliated with a missile strike on a US military base in Iraq that did not result in any fatalities, but its unintentional downing of a passenger plane above Tehran killed 176 people.

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