The assassination of a top Iranian scientist could turn into a serious showdown in the region, as the Islamic Republic has vowed to avenge the death. Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, Iran’s top nuclear scientist, was killed in an ambush near Tehran on Friday, prompting strong reactions from the country’s top leaders.
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday accused Israel of assassinating the scientist, who was long suspected by the West of planning the country’s secret nuclear program. “Once again, the evil hands of global arrogance, with the usurping Zionist regime as a mercenary, were stained with the blood of a son of this nation,” Rouhani said in a statement posted on his official website.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called for “final punishment” for those behind the scientist’s assassination, calling Fakhrizadeh “the country’s prominent and distinguished nuclear and defense scientist.”
Hossein Dehghan, Khamenei’s military adviser, vowed to “strike like thunder at the murderers of this oppressed martyr,” suggesting Israel’s hand behind the murder. On Twitter, Dehghan said that Israel seeks to intensify pressure on Iran for a “full-blown war” in the final days of the Trump administration.
Read also | Iran’s Supreme Leader vows revenge for murdered scientist
What is the JCPoA or the Iran nuclear deal?
The United States, Russia, China, Germany, Britain, and France struck a deal with Iran in 2015, agreeing to provide sanctions relief rather than preventing the nation from developing nuclear weapons. Later, in 2018, US President Donald Trump announced Washington’s withdrawal from that Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA), calling it “the worst agreement in history.”
Since then, the Trump administration has continued to impose sanctions on Tehran as part of its “maximum pressure” campaign. However, the US withdrawal led Iran to default on commitments made under the nuclear deal and increased its uranium enrichment.
Read also | Who is the Iranian scientist killed in Tehran?
Why is Iran suspicious of Israel?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran of continuing to search for nuclear weapons and warned of a secret atomic warehouse. “Remember that name, Fakhrizadeh,” Netanyahu had said in 2018, referring to the now-murdered scientist. However, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspected the alleged atomic warehouse site in February 2019 and found traces of uranium. The IAEA published a report on Iran’s nuclear activities and the implementation of its commitment under the JCPoA.
The world watchdog reported that Iran has accumulated more than 12 times the amount of enriched uranium allowed under the nuclear deal. The UN agency noted that the presence of multiple anthropogenic uranium particles at an undeclared location has yet to be fully and promptly explained by Iran to allay any potential concerns.
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