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Following the attack on a high-ranking nuclear scientist, Iranian President Rouhani has made accusations against the United States and Israel. He declared the murdered scientist a martyr. Iran’s nuclear program will continue.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has blamed the United States and Israel for the murder of nuclear physicist Mohsen Fachrisadeh. “Once again, imperialism and its Zionist mercenaries caused bloodshed and the death of an Iranian scientist,” Rouhani said on state television. This “terrorist attack” only demonstrates the fear of Tehran’s enemies about the technological progress of the Islamic Republic. However, the assassination will not prevent the country from following Fachrisadeh’s path even more consistently, the president said. “His martyrdom will not stop our successes.”
According to the Iranian nuclear chief, the attack will not stop or impair the progress of the country’s nuclear program. “Fachrisadeh’s path will now continue even more intensely,” said nuclear chief Ali-Akbar Salehi. Communications Minister Mohamed Jawad Asari Jahromi made a similar statement. “Thousands will grow back from the only flower that is plucked,” the minister tweeted.
Shot in the car, died in the hospital
According to Iranian state media, nuclear scientist Fachrisadeh died on Friday after an attack near the capital, Tehran. According to Defense Minister Amir Hatami, he and his bodyguards were heading from the small town of Absard to Tehran. “His car was shot first, and after about 10 to 15 seconds, a Nissan with explosives exploded about 15 to 20 meters from his car,” Hatami said of the sequence of events. Television channels showed images of a dark limousine with a smashed windshield, debris and blood on the street.
Fachrisadeh is considered the father of the Iranian nuclear program, which was officially suspended in the early 2000s. The United States and Israel assume that Iran will try to continue the program. More recently, Fachrisadeh headed the Department of Research and Technological Renewal of the Ministry of Defense.
Assassination could jeopardize nuclear program talks
So far, no one has heard of the attack on the scientist. The Iranian secret service and the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) launched the investigation.
Iranian suspicions against Israel are fueled by a statement by Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu. In 2018 he spoke in detail about the role of Fachrisadeh on television and warned: “Remember the name Mohsen Fachrisadeh.”
According to a New York Times report, a US official and two other intelligence officials apparently confirmed that Israel was behind the attack. They did not give more details.
The scientist’s death could exacerbate the conflict between Iran and its opponents in the final weeks of US President Donald Trump’s term. At the same time, Trump’s designated successor, Joe Biden, is likely to make efforts to revive the detente from the time of US President Barack Obama more difficult.
UN Secretary General António Guterres urged restraint in relation to the attack. A UN spokesperson for the dpa news agency announced that the reports of the incident had been taken note. “We ask for restraint and consider it necessary to avoid measures that could lead to an escalation of tensions in the region.”
With information from Karin Senz, ARD-Studio Istanbul
