Iranian top nuclear scientist killed: Will this spark a war between Iran and Israel?
Iranian nuclear scientist killed
The Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was assassinated Friday east of Tehran was shot by a remote-controlled machine gun operating out of another car, the semi-official Fars News Agency. He was the head of the research centre of new technology in the elite Revolutionary Guards and was a leading figure in Iran’s nuclear program.
According to a published report in Fars News, it is reported that on Friday Fakhrizadeh was travelling with his wife in a bulletproof car, alongside three security personnel vehicles, when all of sudden he heard some bullet alike sound hitting the vehicle. To which he exited the vehicle to determine what had happened. When he left the vehicle, a remote-controlled machine gun opened fire from a Nissan stopped about 150 meters (164 yards) from Fakhrizadeh’s car.
Fakhrizadeh was hit at least three times, according to Fars News. His bodyguard was also shot. Following the gunfire, the Nissan exploded, Fars News reported, adding the attack lasted three minutes. The semi-official Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) also reported Fakhrizadeh’s car was hit by gunfire, followed by an explosion and more gunfire, citing Iranian Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Amir Hatami.
Israel blamed for the attack
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called on the international community “to end their shameful double standards” and “condemn this act of state terror.” He added that the attack showed “serious indications of Israeli role.” Maj. Gen. Hossein Dehghan, Khamenei’s military adviser, tweeted Saturday that “Zionists” are seeking to create “all-out war” and vowed to “descend like lightning” on Fakhrizadeh’s killers.
Iran’s English-language Press TV reported on Monday that the weapon used in the killing of prominent Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh last week was made in Israel, the Islamic Republic’s longtime enemy.
“The weapons collected from the site of the terrorist act (where Fakhrizadeh was assassinated) bear the logo and specifications of the Israeli military industry,” an unnamed source told Press TV. In Jerusalem, there was no immediate reply from Israeli officials contacted for comment on the report.
A senior Israeli official told the New York Times on Sunday that the world should thank Israel for killing the father of Iran’s nuclear weapons program, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.
Bruce Riedel, a former CIA official who also spoke to the Times, called the alleged Israeli operation “unprecedented,” adding it showed “no sign of being effectively countered by the Iranians.”
However, Israel did not officially confirm its involvement in the bombing and shootout in the Iranian city of Absard, near Tehran, in which Fakhrizadeh was killed.
How will Iran respond?
ran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has vowed revenge after the killing of Fakhrizadeh.
