Iran's top nuclear scientist Fakhrizadeh assassinated; Tehran alleges 'Israeli role'

Iran's top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh has been murdered on the outskirts of capital Tehran after gunmen attacked his car on Friday, November 27. According to the Associated Press, the attack took place in Absard, a village that is considered a retreat for the Iranian elite. 

The Islamic Republic's state media reported that minutes before Fakhrizadeh was ambushed, a truck ridden with explosives blew up near his car, forcing his sedan to stop. The reports added that at least five gunmen then emerged and started firing at Fakhrizadeh's car continuously, killing the scientist and his bodyguard. 

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Iran blames Israel

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif indicated Israel's role behind the assassination. Zarif described the killing as an act of "state terror" and called on the international community, especially the European Union to end their "shameful double standards" in condemning the attack. Israel and its intelligence agency Mossad have been blamed for the killing of top Iranian officials and scientists earlier as well.

Meanwhile, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had vowed retaliation. “We will strike as thunder at the killers of this oppressed martyr and will make them regret their action,” tweeted Hossein Dehghan.

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According to the report, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2018 had mentioned Fakhrizahed's name publicly, and said "remember that name". The incident took place days before the 10-year death anniversary of Majid Shahriari, an Iranian nuclear scientist who was assassinated in 2010. Iran had accused Israel and the United States of killing Majid.

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The outgoing US President Donald Trump retweeted a post by an Israeli journalist Yossi Melman, who informed about Fakhrizahed's killing on the micro-blogging site and wrote, "His death is a major psychological and professional blow for Iran". The assassination comes months after Iran and the United States were on the brink of war over the killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad by the US forces. 

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(Image Credit: AP)