TEHRAN: A senior Iranian security official on Monday accused Israel of using “electronic devices” to remotely kill a scientist who founded the Islamic Republic’s military nuclear program in the 2000s.
Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the country’s Supreme National Security Council, made the comment at Mohsen Fakhrizadeh’s funeral, where Iran’s defense minister separately promised to continue the man’s work “with more speed and more power.”
Israel, suspected of killing Iranian nuclear scientists over the past decade, has declined to comment on the attack.
Fakhrizadeh spearheaded Iran’s so-called AMAD program, which Israel and the West have alleged was a military operation seeking the viability of building a nuclear weapon.
The International Atomic Energy Agency says the “structured program” ended in 2003. US intelligence agencies agreed with that assessment in a 2007 report.
Israel insists that Iran still maintains ambition to develop nuclear weapons, pointing to Tehran’s ballistic missile program and research into other technologies. Iran has long maintained that its nuclear program is peaceful.
Shamkhani’s comments dramatically changed the story of Fakhrizadeh’s assassination on Friday. Authorities initially said a truck exploded and then gunmen opened fire on the scientist and killed him.
State TV’s English-language Press TV previously reported that a weapon recovered from the scene of the attack bore “the logo and specifications of the Israeli military industry.”
The Arabic-language state television channel Al-Alam claimed that the weapons used were “controlled by satellite,” a claim also made Sunday by the semi-official Fars news agency.
None of the media immediately offered evidence to back up their claims. “Unfortunately, the operation was very complicated and was carried out using electronic devices,” Shamkhani told state television. “No individual was present at the site.”
Shamkhani also blamed the group of Iranian exiles Mujahedeen-e-Khalq for “having a role in this,” without elaborating. The MEK did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Monday’s service for Fakhrizadeh took place in an open-air portion of the Iranian Defense Ministry in Tehran, with officials including the head of the Revolutionary Guard, General Hossein Salami, the leader of the Guard’s Quds Force, General Esmail Ghaani, the head of the civil nuclear program Ali Akbar Sahei and the intelligence minister Mamoud Alavi. They sat apart from each other and wore masks due to the coronavirus pandemic while reciters melodically read parts of the Quran and religious texts.
Defense Minister General Amir Hatami delivered a speech after kissing Fakhrizadeh’s coffin and putting his forehead against it. He said Fakhrizadeh’s assassination would make Iranians “more united, more determined.”
“For the continuation of his path, we will continue with more speed and more power,” Hatami said in comments broadcast live on state television.
Hatami also criticized countries that had not condemned Fakhrizadeh’s assassination, warning: “This will catch up with you one day.”
Overnight, the United Arab Emirates, which has just reached a normalization agreement with Israel, issued a statement condemning “the heinous murder”. The United Arab Emirates, home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, warned it “could further fuel the conflict in the region.”
Last year, the United Arab Emirates found itself in the middle of a growing series of incidents between Iran and the United States. Although long-held suspicious of Iran’s nuclear program, the Emirates have said they want to reduce the crisis. The UAE has just started passenger air service to Israel and Israelis are expected to vacation in the country during Hanukkah in the coming days.
Hatami also called the United States’ nuclear arsenal – and the atomic bomb arsenal that Israel was long suspected of having – “the most dangerous threat to humanity.”
Later, the mourners buried Fakhrizadeh in the courtyard of the Imamzadeh Saleh mosque in northern Tehran.
Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the country’s Supreme National Security Council, made the comment at Mohsen Fakhrizadeh’s funeral, where Iran’s defense minister separately promised to continue the man’s work “with more speed and more power.”
Israel, suspected of killing Iranian nuclear scientists over the past decade, has declined to comment on the attack.
Fakhrizadeh spearheaded Iran’s so-called AMAD program, which Israel and the West have alleged was a military operation seeking the viability of building a nuclear weapon.
The International Atomic Energy Agency says the “structured program” ended in 2003. US intelligence agencies agreed with that assessment in a 2007 report.
Israel insists that Iran still maintains ambition to develop nuclear weapons, pointing to Tehran’s ballistic missile program and research into other technologies. Iran has long maintained that its nuclear program is peaceful.
Shamkhani’s comments dramatically changed the story of Fakhrizadeh’s assassination on Friday. Authorities initially said a truck exploded and then gunmen opened fire on the scientist and killed him.
State TV’s English-language Press TV previously reported that a weapon recovered from the scene of the attack bore “the logo and specifications of the Israeli military industry.”
The Arabic-language state television channel Al-Alam claimed that the weapons used were “controlled by satellite,” a claim also made Sunday by the semi-official Fars news agency.
None of the media immediately offered evidence to back up their claims. “Unfortunately, the operation was very complicated and was carried out using electronic devices,” Shamkhani told state television. “No individual was present at the site.”
Shamkhani also blamed the group of Iranian exiles Mujahedeen-e-Khalq for “having a role in this,” without elaborating. The MEK did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Monday’s service for Fakhrizadeh took place in an open-air portion of the Iranian Defense Ministry in Tehran, with officials including the head of the Revolutionary Guard, General Hossein Salami, the leader of the Guard’s Quds Force, General Esmail Ghaani, the head of the civil nuclear program Ali Akbar Sahei and the intelligence minister Mamoud Alavi. They sat apart from each other and wore masks due to the coronavirus pandemic while reciters melodically read parts of the Quran and religious texts.
Defense Minister General Amir Hatami delivered a speech after kissing Fakhrizadeh’s coffin and putting his forehead against it. He said Fakhrizadeh’s assassination would make Iranians “more united, more determined.”
“For the continuation of his path, we will continue with more speed and more power,” Hatami said in comments broadcast live on state television.
Hatami also criticized countries that had not condemned Fakhrizadeh’s assassination, warning: “This will catch up with you one day.”
Overnight, the United Arab Emirates, which has just reached a normalization agreement with Israel, issued a statement condemning “the heinous murder”. The United Arab Emirates, home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, warned it “could further fuel the conflict in the region.”
Last year, the United Arab Emirates found itself in the middle of a growing series of incidents between Iran and the United States. Although long-held suspicious of Iran’s nuclear program, the Emirates have said they want to reduce the crisis. The UAE has just started passenger air service to Israel and Israelis are expected to vacation in the country during Hanukkah in the coming days.
Hatami also called the United States’ nuclear arsenal – and the atomic bomb arsenal that Israel was long suspected of having – “the most dangerous threat to humanity.”
Later, the mourners buried Fakhrizadeh in the courtyard of the Imamzadeh Saleh mosque in northern Tehran.
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