Prominent Iranian nuclear scientist assassinated..Zarif points to an Israeli role in the assassination

Prominent Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh has been assassinated in a terrorist attack near the capital Tehran, according to the Iranian Defense Ministry.

In a statement on Friday, the ministry said that “armed terrorists targeted a vehicle carrying Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, head of the Iranian Defense Ministry’s Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND).

After a clash between the terrorists and his security team, Fakhrizadeh was severely injured and rushed to hospital, but unfortunately, the medical team’s efforts to save him were unsuccessful and he passed away, added the ministry.

Fakhrizadeh was considered one of the most prominent and highly ranked nuclear scientists in the field of scientific research for the missile industry.

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Iran’s Defense Minister, Brigadier General Amir Hatami, tweeted on Friday that the assassination of Fakhrizadeh displayed “the depth of enemies’ hatred” towards the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Zarif: Serious indications of Israel’s role in the assassination

Iranian Foreign Ministry Mohammad Javad Zarif condemned the terror attack, saying there were “serious indications” of the Israeli entity’s role in the assassination of Fakhrizadeh, a professor of physics at Imam Hussein University of Tehran.

 “Terrorists murdered an eminent Iranian scientist today. This cowardly act shows the desperate warmongering of perpetrators,” he said in a tweet.

The top Iranian diplomat called on the international community, especially the European Union, to end their shameful double standards and condemn this act of state terrorism.

 ‘Harsh revenge awaits criminals’

In the meantime, Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri blamed terrorists linked to global arrogance and the Zionist entity for the savage attack.

The assassination, he said, did deal a blow to Iran’s defense industry, but the enemies should know that “the path opened by the likes of Martyr Fakhrizadeh will never end.”

The commander vowed that the perpetrators of the terror attack will be pursued and brought to justice.

In a similar message, Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Commander Major General Hossein Salami vowed a “harsh revenge and punishment” for those behind this act of terror.

 The assassination of the Iranian scientist “was planned and run by the terrorist Zionist entity,” the chief IRGC commander added.

Iranian Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi also said in a statement that an operation had been launched to identify the terrorist elements complicit in the “brutal crime,” pledging that the Islamic Republic will avenge the martyr’s blood.

In turn, Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan, military advisor to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, also reacted to Fakhrizadeh’s martyrdom in a tweet, vowing a crushing response to the perpetrator.

 Iran’s Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raeisi said the “big crime” was carried out by “traitorous elements linked to foreigners and international Zionism with the aim of hindering the country’s scientific progress.”

Fakhrizadeh’s name was mentioned multiple times in a presentation in 2018 by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during which he repeated baseless claims about the Iranian nuclear program.

Netanyahu described the scientist as the director of Iran’s nuclear program and threatened, “Remember that name, Fakhrizadeh.”

The Israeli entity has been behind the assassination of several Iranian nuclear scientists. It has also conduced cyber attacks on Iranian nuclear sites.

Former CIA Director: Killing of Fakhrizadeh a criminal and highly reckless act

Former head of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), John Brennan, said the killing of the scientist was a criminal and highly reckless act that risks inflaming conflict in the region.

In a series of tweets, he said the scientist’s death “risks lethal retaliation and a new round of regional conflict”.

Brennan added that he did not know “whether a foreign government authorized or carried out the murder of Fakhrizadeh”.

The United Nations has called for exercising restraint and avoiding escalation in the Middle East region following the assassination of Fakhrizadeh.

“We have noted the reports that an Iranian nuclear scientist has been assassinated near Tehran today. We urge restraint and the need to avoid any actions that could lead to an escalation of tensions in the region”, the deputy spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, Farhan Haq, said late Friday.

 Hamda Mustafa