Iran's Most Senior Nuclear Scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh Assassinated

Iran's most senior nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, has been assassinated near the capital city of Tehran, the country's defence ministry has confirmed.

Iranian news agencies said his car in Damavand county was targeted with a bomb, before assailants started shooting at him.

Fakhrizadeh died in hospital after the attack.

According to the BBC, Fakhrizadeh was seen by Western intelligence agencies as the mastermind behind Iran's secret nuclear weapons programme, reportedly described by diplomats as the 'father of the Iranian bomb'.

The Guardian reports that Fakhrizadeh was ambushed in the town of Absard, which lies 70km east of Tehran.

PA

After witnesses heard an explosion, four assailants opened fire, with Fakhrizadeh also wounded in the attack.

The Iranian ministry of defence confirmed Fakhrizadeh's death in a statement.

"Armed terrorists targeted a vehicle carrying Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, head of the ministry's research and innovation organisation," it said.

"After a clash between the terrorists and his bodyguards, Mr Fakhrizadeh was severely injured and rushed to hospital.

"Unfortunately, the medical team's efforts to save him were unsuccessful and minutes ago he passed away."

Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, has condemned the killing 'as an act of state terror', calling on the international community to do the same.

"Terrorists murdered an eminent Iranian scientist today," Zarif said in a tweet.

"This cowardice - with serious indications of Israeli role - shows desperate warmongering of perpetrators."

The commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has also vowed that Iran will revenge the assassination.

According to the BBC, between 2010 and 2012, four Iranian nuclear scientists were assassinated, and Iran accused Israel of being involved in the killings.

In a Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu May 2018 presentation about Iran's nuclear programme, Fakhrizadeh was specifically singled out as the lead scientist for the programme.

"Remember that name," Netanyahu said as he identified Fakhrizedeh.

Iran insists its nuclear programme is exclusively for peaceful purposes, the BBC reports, while there has been no comment from Israel on the news of Fakhrizedeh's death.

Jess Hardiman

Jess is a journalist at LADbible who graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics - indecisiveness at its finest, right there. She also works for FOODbible and its sister page Seitanists, which are both a safe haven for her to channel a love for homemade pasta, fennel and everything else in between. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

@Jess_Hardiman